The Church of Eleven22 - Wk 3: Disciple-Making Disciples

Episode Date: January 20, 2019

Real biblical discipleship is measured by replicating real biblical disciples.

Amen and amen. How are we doing, church? Are we good? You're looking good. I don't know by you, man. That video gets me ready to preach. I hope you're ready to listen. If you got your Bible, go to 2 Timothy chapter 2. That's where Paul will talk about the soldier and the athlete and the farmer. They are illustrations of what it means to be a disciple. And that's what we're going to dig in on. We're going to dig in on what it means to be a disciple. Now, how many of you here were here last week? We're here last week. That was amazing. Can we just be honest? I don't know about you. Sounds like you were... Let's say to TPC, man. What are you doing? I didn't make a putt. Last week was unbelievable. In case you missed it, you got to go watch online.

We talked about, we hung out on 1st Timothy chapter 1, verse 6 and 7, where Paul remembers the tears of Timothy. Timothy, this young man who's been called to be the lead pastor of the church at Ephesus, he grows up without a dad, or at least an absentee father. He's kind of a timid guy. We know he's got some stomach problem, so he's like a nervous kid. And yet, on the seashore, Paul and some other elders lay their hands on Timothy. And God gives a word to Paul or through Paul to Timothy, for God did not give you a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of self-control. And we preached on that.

And I preached on that. You participated by listening. And we said, anybody that's ready to let that go, let the chains of fear fall. off of them as our band sang fear is a liar over all of our services at our five campuses thousands of people responded by standing up thousands of people throughout the weekend and then remember afterwards we said come on forward and get prayed for and I mean it just people are streaming down and streaming now from the preacher pastor perspective it doesn't get any better than that I mean for me it's just like boom mic drop I'm out I'm done where do you go from here

I mean, people are flooding up here praying. How about this? At Baker Correctional Campus, we had 134 men there, and 134 men came forward to be prayed for. Amen? 100% of them. Now, listen, man, I live for those moments where you encounter the Almighty King of Kings. I mean, it's amazing, right? The spirit is so thick in here.

You feel like if you open your eyes quick enough, you can see God. Oh, there he is, all right? And then I'm telling you, the chains fell off. you're going home, everything's going to be different. And then you know what happened? Monday. I don't know what you were expecting Monday to be like, but I think in our minds what a lot of us think is after you have this encounter, right? Elders lay hands on you and you're praying and crying and it's this moment.

I think you expect for Monday morning I don't even have to set my alarm because I think Jesus himself is going to show up in my bedroom and grab me by the toe and go, good morning, buddy. How about I read the gospel of John to you for your quiet time while the angels sing, angels hit it? But after we're believing that God has not given us a spirit of fear but a power and of love and of self-control, when you wake up Monday morning and there's the fear again, and there's the same pains and there's the same struggles, and what Paul is going to do in this brilliant way after he talks about the spirit that God has put in us in chapter two and following what he's saying to Timothy is that moment when I love. laid hands on you and the Spirit of God fell on you. That wasn't the finish line. That was the starting line.

And now it's time to get to work. And what Paul is going to do all throughout Chapter 2 is he's going to bob and weave between man's responsibility for his own growth and development and God's sovereign hand in his life and the Spirit's work in us. And those two are not to be divided out. They work hand in hand. And so in chapter 2 verse 1, Paul says, this, you then, my child. So Timothy, based on that moment where I laid my hands on you, based on

that moment where you believe that fear is a liar and you begin to understand that fear does not have to rule you because Jesus in you has given you a spirit of power and of love and self-control. You, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Now notice what he says here. He doesn't say be strong, but he uses a passive form of that. that verb, which means that, Timothy, you are going to be on the receiving end of strength in Christ Jesus. In other words, when Christ Jesus moves into you, that is your source of strength. That you don't walk out of here and try to be strong.

You walk out of here and you abide in your relationship with Jesus. You grow closer and closer and closer in your relationship with Jesus. The terminology we use at 1122 is this. You deepen your relationship with Jesus. And as you grow closer and closer in Him, As you abide in him, he begins to do things in you and through you that you could never do on your own. And then he's going to give him an action step on how to do this. Timothy, you want to be a disciple?

You want to walk in power. You want to walk in love. You want to walk in self-control. You want to be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Verse 2. He basically says, it ain't all about you. Here's what God has for you. Verse 2.

And what you have heard from me in the present. of many witnesses and trust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. This is the action step. In other words, what Paul is telling Timothy here is, hey, Timothy, the reason that God saved you and anointed you and appointed you in the one day will glorify you in heaven. The reason he has done this, it's not just about you. This is what we talked about the first week. That faith does not merely happen to you, that faith, true faith, should happen through you.

And if faith is not happening through you, then maybe faith didn't happen to you. You see, the whole goal is to make disciples to the glory of God. That is what we have been called to. And so if you'll see here, you'll see four generations of discipleship. He says, the things that you've heard from me, so that's from Paul to Timothy, in the presence of witnesses. This is the people that would have been influences over Paul. Entrust the faithful men. Timothy, you were going to make some disciples that are able to teach others.

and the disciples that you make should be making disciples. You see, what we have been called to, here at 1122 and really in all churches, is that we are not into the crowd business. The goal is not to get thousands of people to show up and sit in rows. The goal is to make disciples that make disciples that make disciples to the glory of God. Now, we didn't make this up. Jesus did. It's called the Great Commission.

In Matthew Chapter 28, the last thing. Jesus says before he ascends to the right hand of God the Father, he gathers together the disciples, not just like the 12 guys with the title, but about 120 followers. And he says, all authority in heaven and earth has been given unto me. Therefore, go and make disciples in all nations. And every theologian agrees when Jesus says go and make disciples, he doesn't mean go find six people that already believe what you believe and meet together once a week in Panera. That's not what he's talking about.

He means that we take the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the very ends of the earth. Now, actually, we're the ends of the earth because it was on the other side of the world when he said this. So everywhere you go, as you are on to go, not only are you introducing people to the good news of Jesus or helping them discover a relationship with him, but those who already have that you would use your life, all of your life, to help people then deepen that relationship with him. according to Paul, according to the Bible, especially according to Jesus, that is the win, that is the goal for the church. To make disciples, that make disciples, that make disciples. And it's so easy for the church to lose sight of that.

Imagine if you were a reporter and you went to the Jaguars, all the players, right now. And you said, hey, fellas, so how did the season go? And what if they responded? It was fabulous. We had such a good time. I mean, we went to London. That was a thing. We get along.

Some of my best friends are here in this locker room. You should see Jalen dance. It is amazing. We love each other and we share birthday parties for our kids together. We think the season was a success. What would we say as Jack's fans? I don't think you understand why we brought you here, fellas. All right, Blake, Leonard.

The goal is not how you feel about each other. By the way, none of them would say that. The goal is not, well, we get along and we have such camaraderie. No, man, we brought you here, Leonard. Take this ball across that line. More than they do, we call that a win. That's what we're doing. Now, the fact that you get along and you have team meetings,

we think that is a means to an end, and the end is a big fat doesn't. you to the glory of God. All right. That's what we're going for. I think every football player knows that. Right, Donovan? Right. Here's the thing, man, a lot of times at church, you'd ask a church. So how are things going? How was your year? And you're like, it was so great. I love these people so much. Not those people, but us for and no more, we just pray for each. Get out of my group. Get out. Stop. It's just us. Us for. And I'm telling you, in God's economy, That's like getting along well in the locker room, but you can't score.

That's what this means. Paul is saying, Timothy, you want to be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, then you be about not just being a disciple, but you be about making disciple makers. That's what this thing is all about. By the way, the primary way we do that here at 1122 is in disciple groups. You should step into disciple groups, not only to be disciples, but to be a disciple. maker. And now what he's going to do is Paul is going to talk specifically to Timothy about his own discipleship. And the reason is because you cannot lead where you're not going. You can't lead where

you're not going. And he's going to use, he's going to use three examples because he wants Timothy to be a tour guide, not a travel agent. You see, a travel agent books a trip for you and says you should go there. But as a believer, we're supposed to be tour guides where we say, no, no, you follow me and I'll walk through this thing with you. I follow Jesus, and as I follow Jesus, you follow me. So in essence, if you're following me, I'm following Jesus. I'm just a means to an end of you following Jesus. And then he uses these three illustrations. I love it. The soldier, the athlete, and the farmer. Now, why do you think he picks these three? First and foremost, I think one of the reasons he picked the soldier and the athlete and the farmer is because they're just tough. I mean, when you

think soldier, when you think athlete, when you think farmer, and then you think Christian, do you think the same thing? See, when I just get the mental image of Christian, I think Ned Flanders. Now, if you're, half of you don't know who he is, Google him, okay? He was a theologian back with the Simpsons, all right? And so we think just like buttoned down, super cautious, drives really slow in the fast lane, minivan. We're just, we think, we're with a fish on the back and another fish for Mrs. Flanders, some medium-sized fish for the nine children that they made, and then 14 more fish for all of their compassion kids.

That's what we think when we think Christian. And yet, this little kind of spineless, milk-toast wuss of a human being, you cannot find that as an example of what it means to be a Jesus follower in the Scriptures. all you find in the scripture is just as a warrior, is a soldier, an athlete, a farmer. And so if you are looking for comfort and ease, don't follow Jesus. I mean, you can attend church regularly,

and, you know, when the song you like comes on, you can raise your hand a little bit, whatever. But if you are looking for an easy life, a comfortable life, a life where you just get what you want and everything around you is just hunky-dory, then whatever you do, don't be a soldier, don't be an athlete, don't be a farmer, and for goodness sake, don't be a Christian.

Because Christianity is not for the faint of heart. Being a disciple is not for the feign of heart. God has called us to lay down our lives for his glory. You see, we believe that Jesus stepped out of heaven on the earth, that died a sinner's death on the cross, and then we follow him expecting that that could happen to us, and we look at the face of that danger, and we would say it is worth it for our king.

That's what it means to be a disciple. In fact, in Matthew chapter 11, Jesus will say it this way. He will say, from John the Baptist until today, the kingdom of God has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men and women take hold of it. We have been invited into a war, and you and I are fighting for a different prize. We are fighting for souls against an enemy that wants to kill, steal, and destroy.

And listen, if you're serious about discipleship, the attacks are real. Amen? The attacks are real. The doubt is real. The anxiety is real. The temptation is real. People that used to be close to you that won't be anymore because you're now close to Jesus, it is real. The abandonment is real.

So Jesus is not looking for you to just attend church a little bit because the bald guy is funny about every 10 minutes or so. That is not what it means to be a follower of Jesus. It means that we are a part of this army that God has called us into to be a part of the epic story of his glory. I think that's why he uses the soldier and the athlete and the farmer. I also think because in all three of these situations, there is a partnership with the soldiers. the athlete and the farmer, there's a relationship between someone and authority over them

and some peers around them to make the thing happen. I mean, with a soldier, nobody can win a war alone. And their orders come from up above. And with the athlete, no matter how much you train, no matter how hard you try, you can only do the best with what God has given you. I remember when I was in the ninth grade,

I had a very serious conversation with my dad. Daddy, I need to talk to you. I have a question about my life. And they need some fatherly advice that could change everything. He's like, what's that, buddy? Big decision. So do you think I should be a professional baseball player or football player? He said, buddy, I think you should probably study.

All right. And he's right. Because I don't care how hard I tried. This is all I got. You understand? And so, oh, man, in my memory, though, I was good, all right? And so with the athlete, I mean, you train and you train and you train,

and it is God by His grace that gives you this potential that you have, and then what you do with it is your gift back to him. And then with the farmer, this might be the best illustration of them all. You know what the farmer can't do? The farmer can't just pray for crops. Nothing will happen. You could get up every morning and read the Psalms, and dear God, bring corn. But if you don't plant corn, you ain't getting corn.

The farmer would be like, God, I'm just waiting on you. I was like, that's funny because I'm waiting on you to plant some corn. However, no matter how hard the farmer works, he could till the soil, he could fertilize it, he can lime it, he could plant all the corn, but he still can't make the sunshine, he can't make it rain, and he can't make it grow. It's this beautiful partnership between the Almighty God and earthly man. You see, there's a lot of theologians, different theological camps that spend a whole bunch of time trying to decide what is man's responsibility and what is the sovereign hands.

of God. In the scriptures, it does not make that distinction. You see, God is sovereign not only over the ends, but also over the means. And the reason that we work is because God has preordained it that our work would work as long as he works in it. I know it's confusing, but welcome to the Bible. That's just how it works. Not only that, I think a part of the reason he uses all three of these is this, is because it's about perseverance. It's about perseverance. With the athlete, with the soldier, and with the farmer. It takes a minute for it to pay off. My buddy Kelly over here, he's a Marine. And when he first went to boot camp, I asked him this week, as I was prepping the ceremony,

I was like, man, would you learn your first week of boot camp? And he's like, not that much. I learned how to walk with a group of people from here to there. I learned how to clean my room, fold clothes, and make my bed. And he said, at the end of the first week of boot camp and learned how to be yelled at. And he said, the first week of boot camp, I thought, I have made a horrible mistake. I signed up to be a soldier. And all I've learned is what my mom was trying to teach me in the sixth grade. But it was over time that the U.S. government has a process to take young men and women and turn them into soldiers.

Or the athlete. Some of you have experienced this. You have experienced this week, I mean this year, 2019, you re-entered your athletic career, all right? You said, I'm getting a gym membership, all right? You've neglected it for, you know, since Bush was president, whatever, and you're like, I'm back. This is going to be my year. And for many hours, you did many healthy things. You got up and you made an egg white omelet.

You're like, what's the point? Oh, all right? And then you got this little drink that you bought with some little figure on there, and you're like, you taste it. And you're like, taste like chalk, must be working. And you went to your class, and you jiggled it out with the best of them, whatever full CrossFit box. whatever, you're just just all jiggling, right? And then the next morning, you wake up and what happened? Nothing.

You're like, it ain't working. The only thing is you hurt in places you didn't know you had places in December. That's what happened. But everybody here knows you can't get in shape in a minute. It's over time. It's the cumulative effect of going and going and going. He's using this as a discipleship example. And then the farmer.

You know, the farmer goes out and he does all the work and he plants the sea. And if he comes back the very next day and he looks at it, it could look like nothing's happening. It could look like, I don't think this is working. And little does he know that under the surface, under the soil, where it looks like a failure from his perspective, the farmer, under the soil, a miracle is happening. The seed is going to die unto itself. It's going to be reborn. And this little corn seed that you can barely even see is going to sprout into this thing that you can barely even count. You see, for a bunch of you in your discipleship right now, look, you just became a Christian last year.

We had 1,572 people get saved at 1122 last year. Glory to God. But a bunch of you are just been planted, and you look around your circumstances, and it feels like you're buried, and nobody knows what's going on. And little did you know, you're not buried, you're planted by the Almighty God, and he's about to do a miracle in your life. You just got to give it a minute. He's going to make it rain. He's going to make it. make the sunshine, and he's going to do a work in you that you can't even imagine.

I think this is why he uses these kind of examples. You see, in all three of these examples, in all three of these examples, pain always precedes the promise. And every time, if you're going to be an athlete and you're going to win, you train before you ever get to the game. And that training will determine how you do in the game. If you are going to be a soldier, you train so that when you get to the war, you are ready. If you are going to be a farmer, you don't just get to wake up and harvest.

You have to sew and you have to work and you have to till. And the pain always precedes the promise. But it takes a minute. This is what's so beautiful about progressive sanctification. Any of you ever see your children grow? No. I remember the first time Gretchen let me stay home with J.P. Byer's It's kind of nerve-wracking, isn't it?

You're like, you're leaving? Okay, I don't know what to do. She's like, it's fine. Just be a death. And so I just, I stared at him. You know, there he is, in the car seat. She comes on a couple hours later. How'd it go?

I'm not sure. Nothing happened. I mean, he's just there. Well, something happened, but nothing. He didn't grow. He didn't get any smarter. He didn't walk. He didn't do anything.

And yet, 13 years later, tons of change, right? That's what it's like. in our own discipleship. Have you seen the 10-year challenge going around Facebook? All right? When you look at yourself in the mirror, you're like pretty much the same. But you look, 10 years ago, I looked at my picture. I'm aging like the president. All right, ain't ain't good. I ain't putting mine up. You all did this to me. That's on you, okay? It's just true. And so in a similar way, in a similar way, Paul says, like the soldier, like the athlete, like the farmer, there is pain before the promise.

And it's not so much, all three of these things, it's not so much about how much are you growing, but how much is the gospel growing in you? And then he's going to get to the specifics. He's going to say, share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. In other words, winning the war in the end is worth the pain now. Also, he says share in the suffering. There are no rambos. There are no lone soldiers out there that you are a part of a family, you are a part of a team.

And then he says, no soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. That when you become a soldier, you leave a whole bunch of other civilian kind of deals behind, and those things don't matter anymore because you have a greater purpose from above to win the war. And too many times in the church, we are too easily distracted and entangled in things that are so temporary. We are so easily distracted by our own self-improvement.

We are so easily distracted by cash and prizes. C.S. Lewis is famous for saying, the problem with humanity, not is that we want too much or that our desires are too big, but that we are satisfied with so little. I mean, we think a TV that's 10 inches larger and a half bath and then we'll be fine. Are you kidding me? You see, God has called us into a war and the war that he has called us into is for souls. And yet a lot of times a whole bunch of church people, what they really want to pursue is their own comfort and ease. Man, I had the craziest thing happen this week.

Last Sunday, like I said, man, it was like it was epic for me. I get up here, preach my face off, you respond, God does some work, people are crying, it's awesome. And I'm like, I need a break. So I got on an airplane with the Colorado to go skiing, glory to God. It was awesome. Me and Pastor Ben and my buddy Kelly and some friends from church. And so we get on their plane, go to Denver, and we're skiing close to Vail. So it's about a two and a half hour ride.

We land about, I don't know, 1130, something like that. And I got a little ride there, a taxi, a little fancy taxi to take me over there. So the driver shows up, we get in his suburban, and we take off heading towards Vail. Now, they had those cool captain chairs in the back, and I don't know if you know this about me, but I have the gift of sleep. It's like a spiritual gift. I mean, I'm so good at it. In fact, my wife hardly ever sleeps.

I fall asleep in two seconds. She wakes up every time I exhale. That's how the Lord likes to put people together for our own sanctification. And she will at night. She'll be like, how do you fall asleep so easy? I'm like, I don't know what. Boom, right back there. It's just clean living.

All right. And so I get in the back of the ride. We're heading down the highway, and then I am out. I mean, all the way out. And then we're about two hours into this thing, so it's like 1.30 in the morning or something. And we pull off of the highway just on the little shoulder right there. And the driver just says, you know, I'm kind of waking up. I don't wake up good.

I go to bed. I go to sleep easy, but up out of it, takes me a minute. And I'm kind of, what's happening? And he goes, I need to step out of the car. I don't feel well. And he opens the door and steps out of the car. the car and then we hear, boom, and the door shuts. And I thought, oh no, this brother just got hit. That's what I thought. My first thought was, this guy screwed up my ski trip. Can you believe that?

Pray for me. So Big Kelly, he's next to me. The guy that runs around with me all the time. He used to see him over here. He used to see him skiing. He looks like the abdominal snowman. Anyway, that's a different story. And I'm like, bro, what happened? And Kelly looks out of the window, and he's like, the dude is unconscious in the road. Straight up, man. He passes out. He's not just kind of like curled up. He is like starfish in the slow lane of the interstate right there.

So in that moment, what do you think we did? What do you think we did? We did what any normal human being would do. We did something about it. We busted out of the car. We ran around the other side. We look at him. I mean, he is gone.

He is unconscious. He don't look good. So Big Kelly gets him and I say, I'm going to go call 911. He's like, well, grab an arm or something first. So I grab his arm. We dragged that dude out of the highway, call 911. And then I don't want to exaggerate 30 seconds later, 40 seconds later, in the right lane. Here comes an 18-wheeler.

We go, ha, ha. And, you know, the troopers come and the ambulance and he checks out, okay. But let me tell you, figuratively speaking, what a whole thing is. bunch of church people do in a situation like that. Because you realize everybody you come eyeball to eyeball with that doesn't know Jesus, that is their spiritual condition. They are laying prone in the highway, and here comes the 18-wheeler. And I know you feel like you've got a decade or two, but you have no idea when that day

is coming. But death and destruction is right around the corner for them. And yet so many Christians see that kind of situation, look out the window, and see somebody there that doesn't know Jesus, and they're like, I don't know, it's cold out here. It was three degrees. That's it. That's all the degrees there were that many. I live in Florida, man. I ain't used to this anymore, okay? Or some people would look and go, well, you know what? I don't know what to do. I'm not a paramedic. I'm a preacher. I will pray. Dear God, please get Rob out of the road. Amen. God wants you do something. And I think God's going,

I'm asking you the same question. And you see, he turned out okay, all right? And what Paul is saying here is, hey, listen, man, when you're a soldier, you don't get entangled with civilian affairs like what's on the radio of the suburban, that you stay focused on the goal. And the goal is to make disciples to the very ends of the age. The goal is to take the gospel everywhere God takes you for the sake of men and women that are perishing or are going to die. without the good news of Jesus Christ. So get off of your blessed assurance and get into the game and start whatever it takes. Drag people out of the road, drag them to Jesus, and we're like, all right, take it from there.

That's what we've been called to do. Like a good soldier. Then he says, an athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. A part of what this means is this, man, is that you are not just a pawn in God's plan. God cares about you. And he's not just glorified in the end result. He's also glorified in the means. In other words, dishonest means to a victorious end is no victory in the Lord's eyes.

That God is glorified in the process of discipleship, not just your glorification when you get to heaven. And so like an athlete trains, then we as believers are called to train to be the best version of us that God has put in us for his glory. in your notes, if you open it up, there's a picture right here, and it is a picture of the discipleship journey of the Church of 1122. Listen, if you were an athlete and you signed a Division I scholarship and you showed up, actually before you ever showed up, that school would give you a training program.

And when you got to that school, there would be a training table that you would eat at, and there would be an exercise program that you would be a part of. In regards to your discipleship as a follower of Jesus at the church, church of 1122. This is the training table. This is what it looks like. And the whole point is it's all rooted in a relationship with Jesus Christ. The disciple groups and serving and reading your Bible and all of that is a means to the end and the end is that the gospel in you would grow bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger. If you're serious about your walk with Jesus, I would love for you to go to our website, C-O-E-2.com, and there is a tools section. And in that tool's section is a

a fully built out, here's what it looks like to be on the discipleship journey with Jesus here at the Church of 1122. And it's just rooted in our vision statement. That we're a movement for all people to discover and deepen our relationship with Jesus. That's the most in part your relationship with Jesus. And that a true disciple loves all people. That means you're sharing and you're serving with all people. You're sharing your faith and you're serving all people.

That a real disciple of Jesus discovers their identity in Jesus. This is about salvation and stewardship. Not only do you trust them with your heart, but do you also trust them with all the things that he has given you? And a true follower of Jesus, a true disciple, is deepening their relationship with him. That means that we're deepening in our faith and we're deepening in our faith family.

And this is the training guide for what it means to be a disciple around here. And one of the things we wanted to do for you in regards to this ongoing disciple, again because we're not in the crowd business. We're in the disciplining business. And so if we have your email tomorrow morning, you're going to get an email from us with a gift to you. We have bought for you a subscription to Right Now Media. Right now media is like Netflix for Jesus. There are Bible studies and TV shows and sermons and you'll recognize a bunch of people on there. I have stuff on there. Tim has stuff on there.

And basically what it is is this is you need to change your diet a little bit. If all you do is eat twinkies, you're going to look like a twinkie. Don't elbow and say amen, amen, okay? No. Spiritually speaking, sometimes the diet that you get is just a bunch of twinkies. And what I want you to do is watch a little bit less dumb stuff on Netflix. It's all dumb. You can still watch some dumb stuff.

One twinkie won't kill you. You watch a little less dumb stuff. And then watch some right now media stuff that keep feeding your flame for Jesus Christ. This is our gift to you. You can go on our website, C-O-E-2-Jose. dot com slash right now media and you can sign up for this it's free to you it's very expensive to us to which you should be more excited about this than staring at me blankly okay and this is just a part of the ongoing training as an athlete but you're training for a prize that's not just a trophy

or a ring you're training for an eternal prize an athlete is not crown unless he competes according to the rules then the last one verse six it is the hardworking farmer. What kind of farmer? Hard working. It is the hardworking farmer who want to have the first share of the crops. You see, again, it's a picture of progressive sanctification. It's that not only we're not saved by works, but we are saved too good works. It's not about what we do. It's what Christ has done for us. But when we fully realize what Christ has done for us, then we get to work in training up our bodies and training up ourselves in abiding in Jesus so that we can be fully effective for the kingdom of God, like a good farmer. And then he says this, verse seven,

think over what I say. For the Lord will give you understanding in everything. Verse eight, remember Jesus Christ. Listen how brilliant Paul is. Paul has just spent multiple verses talking to us about our hard work in our discipleship. And so, lest you not think that your walk with Jesus is all up to you, then he swerves right back over here and goes, all right, all right, but listen, it ain't about you. It's about Jesus Christ. It's about what he is doing in you. Your job is to create the kind of environment where he does his job in you, and he begins to

do things in you and through you that you could never do on your own. So he says, remember Jesus Christ, and then he shares the gospel, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal, but the word of God is not bound. Here's what he's saying to Timothy. He's like, Timothy, as long as God has breath in your lungs and you have the freedom to preach, you preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, but there could be a day where you are bound up because of the gospel. We find out in the book of Hebrews that one day Timothy does go to prison. And then what he's saying is this, but even if you are bound up, you are not the limiting factor for what God wants to do on this earth.

Because the gospel is not bound. It reminds me of what coach Lee, my JV football coach would tell me, he would say, boys, you all want to know how important it you are? You want to know how easy it is to replace you, take a cup of water, stick your finger in it, and then look for the dent. We'd be like, coach. I thought you cared. And I think he was talking about like getting a new linebacker, but the same thing is true in the kingdom. Is that, listen, God has invited us into this epic story for his glory, and we should do everything we can pour ourselves out for his glory and I promise you that is where you find life and the moment we're done he's going to bring in the next crew to do it with them that's why we say

around here all the time even though God's doing amazing things through this church it is not new folks it is just our turn and so like the athlete trains like the soldier goes to war like the farmer works we are to do the same thing for the glory of God verse 10 he says therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may attain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. Now, if you look at that on face value, theoretically, it looks like he's saying to opposing things. Paul is saying, I work my fingers to the bone for the sake of this theological term election, which means God has preordained these things to happen. To which you're like, all right, Paul, which one is it? And Paul goes, well, it's both. You see,

See, I get to work. Let me tell you, the reason I preach like crazy up here, like it matters, you know I realize I can't change your mind. You know, I realize I can't convince you of anything. I can't change your heart. I can't make you believe. I can't make the scales fall off of your eyes. And yet I spend hours and hours and hours studying this book so that I can communicate it

to you in such a way that would make sense. And I beg the Spirit of God that he would reveal to me things in his word because he's the true preacher here at 1122. and I get up here and preach like your life depends on it. And yet I know I can't move the needle one notch. But do you know why I try that hard? Do you know why I work that hard? Because through the sovereignty of God, it works.

Because week after week after week, the sovereign king in the universe just swoops down and begins to like let you see things that you've never seen before. That he reaches into your heart and rips out a heart of stone and puts in a heart of flesh. areas in your life where you thought it would be impossible to forgive if the tomb is empty, anything is possible, and the Almighty God lets you experience his forgiveness. You see, this is what Paul is saying here. The reason I work so hard is because God is not only sovereign over the end, he is also sovereign over the means.

And I work because of what God is working in and through me. Therefore, I endure everything for the sake of the elect that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. And then he ends with this little saying. This is really powerful. He says, the saying is trustworthy. For if we have died with him, we will also live with him. If we endure, we will also reign with him.

If we deny him, he also will deny us. And if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. There's a lot here. He starts with this. He says, if we have died with him, we will also live with him. This is a picture of salvation. One of the reasons Jesus ordained baptism as an ordinance of the church is every time you see somebody get baptized, you are seeing a picture, a representation of this verse.

That what it means to be saved is not that you just attend church. I've told you this 100 million times. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian anymore than sticking your head in the oven and makes you a biscuit. That is not how it works. being a Christian means I have died to myself and I have put my faith in Jesus. And when you see somebody get baptized like we've done the past few weeks, somebody will ask the person, who is Jesus to you? And they declare Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior.

And then we say, upon your public profession of Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, I baptize you, my Christian brother or sister in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And when you see them go back, that thing has already happened in their life. and now this is a picture to the whole world of the spiritual reality of their soul, that they are dead to themselves. We don't just sprinkle them because the Greek word baptizo means to dip, dunk, or submerge. So we dunk them violently under the water, all right? Y'all seen Britt baptize somebody?

It's like a chokeslam, man. It's intense, all right? And so we bury them under this water. It's to show the world, I am dead to me. My sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus. and if we have died in him, then we will be resurrected with him and we come out. And the reason the church goes wild is because it's like a birthday. It's a rebirth day.

Everything has changed about you. The core of who you are has changed. 23 and me, whatever. It's one true God lives in here now. That is who you are. So he says, if we have died with him, we will also live with him. Verse 12, if we endure, we will also reign with him. This is what is known by John Calvin as the perseverance of the saints.

In other words, nothing can snatch you out of the hand of God, even you. Now, if your faith fizzles, then it was never true faith to begin with. This is the difference between I trust you as my Lord and Savior and having an emotional response at the end of a service. And he says, endurance is not a prerequisite for salvation. It is evidence of true salvation. Because it is God who begins a good work in us. Then the next verse, if you're serious about Bible studies, should make you a little bit nervous.

If we deny him, he also will deny us. Anybody ever denied Jesus? I mean, like, maybe not overtly, but like at work, this conversation comes up, and you know you're supposed to talk about Jesus stuff in there. And for the sake of your own reputation at work, you just decide, I don't think I'm going to say anything about that. Now, Paul gets this from Jesus, Matthew 1033, says, but whoever did. denies me before others, I also will deny before my father in heaven. That's scary.

Is that not scary? Is that scary anybody? Or y'all just don't care about verses like that? That freaks me out, okay? Because there are times where I don't leap into the conversation as boldly as I should. In fact, when I met Gretchen, met her at the gym, I saw her working out, just, it was awesome, and I just, it was like a tractor bean. I just walked up to her.

I had nothing. I should have thought that we were probably going to talk. Had no game. I just got too close. and Gretchen's personal space, you're in it right now. Okay, if you're like at Mandarin, you're in it. Like, she's got a big personal space. And so when I got in her little bubble, she's like, can I help you?

And I was like, can I get a spot? That's what I said. Okay. Hey, and you laugh, but bam, 18 years, about to be 19, so whatever. My baby mama now. And so then we start having this conversation, right? And dude, I'm just trying to spit game as much as I can. And she, and I don't know if she's a Christian.

And so she's like, so what do you do for a living? I was a youth pastor. I thought, there's no way. I can't tell her that. So I just said, because I didn't know. I mean, I was going to get to the gospel. Give me a second, you know. And I said, I was a youth pastor at the time.

And I go, well, I work with troubled teenagers. I feel like I'm telling the truth, go, have you ever met one's not trouble? Can we be honest? I live with one, trouble, okay? A couple weeks later, I see her in the gym again. But let me tell you what I don't think is happening in that. moment according to this verse what I don't think is happening is when I'm trying to like get a date there I don't think Jesus is like dad come here father look the youth pastor's going to hell he just denied

me for the sake of a date grim reaper come on let's get it going so then like a week later I bumped into her and we're having this conversation that we're just talking again you know and then I can't remember how it came up but she brought up that she was a Christian that her granddad was a church planner that planted the church that she grew up in and is her pastor and I was like well glory to God, I too am of the cloth. Okay? And I don't think Jesus is like, never mind, never mind, he's back in.

He just admitted us. Because in the context here, Paul's not talking to Timothy about whether the assurance of Timothy's salvation. I think in the context, what he's saying here is basically this, is that it's not like, are you in or are you out? And we can see the apostle Peter.

Peter denies Jesus. And Jesus, and Jesus shows back up and ask him three times, do you love me, do you love me? What he's saying, no matter how bad you screw this up, you cannot screw this thing up beyond my grace for you. Because you're not saved by how many times you get it right. You're saved by my righteous act at the cross and my imputed righteousness under you. That's how you're saying. So I think what he's saying here is this, is if you're really a disciple, are you making a disciples and if you're not, you've got to really ask yourself, are you really a disciple?

Here's the way I put it in your notes. Here's the point. That real biblical discipleship is measured by replicating real biblical disciples. Or in other words, discipleship is not measured by what you know, but it's measured in who you raise. That faith is not a thing that is supposed to just happen to you, that faith is to happen through you. And so what Paul is calling Timothy to do in his own discipleship is Be about making disciple makers. What I want you to know as a soldier for Christ, as an athlete on his team, as a farmer that God has called to reap a great harvest, is that we've got to be hyper-focused, laser-focused, not just on looking at us all the time,

but we've got to be hyper-focused at making disciples, that make disciples, that make disciples, and ask yourself, how is God using you right now to do that? Because discipleship is not measured in what you know. In fact, if it was measured by what you know, the Pharisees would have been the greatest disciples in the whole Bible. And we know they were on the wrong side. But it's really measured in who you are raising. And then he ends with this.

He says, if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. Now, my favorite preacher, Dr. John Piper, says that means that God is faithful to judge those who have never surrendered to him and send them to hell forever. and while I believe that is altogether true, I think in this context, I don't think that's what he's talking about. See, because the reality is you've got to hang with me here. We are not saved by our faith.

Because if we were saved by our faith, then that would be a work that we mustered up and say, God, look, I produce this faith in me, I put that faith in you, and now you owe me salvation. But we're not saved by how fateful we are. We are saved by grace through faith. faith is the vehicle by which we are saved and the power of the gospel is in God's grace, not in our good works.

This is how Paul will say it in Ephesians chapter two, just so you know I'm not making stuff up. For by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God. Not the result of work so that no one may boast. Let me say it again. For by grace you have been saved through faith. You see, Timothy's a question. Christian when Paul is writing this. I don't think Paul is questioning Timothy's salvation.

I think what Paul is addressing here is in your discipleship process. Can we just be honest? Anybody ever have times of faithfulness? Anybody ever have times when you choose fear over faith? Anybody ever have times where you choose unforgiveness instead of being a conduit of the forgiveness that God gives you? Anybody ever find yourself in this space or place where the fear and the anxiety the insecurity is the only thing you see, and somehow in your mind you totally forgot that you're a child, that you're a son or a daughter of the most high king. We're three weeks into the new year. Some of you have done so good for 12 or 13 days.

You didn't eat it, you didn't look at it, you didn't drink it, you didn't do whatever you said you weren't going to do anymore. And then here it is again. And you begin to look at yourself and think, oh, gosh, I and I am a very, I am so faithless. And honestly, God would be like, yep. In fact, he said to his disciples multiple times, you faithless generation. And what Paul wants us to know here is,

well, the good news is it's not your faith that saves you. It's God's grace through faith. And that God would never give upon you because he would never give upon him. It would be out of his own character and nature. Do you think that the way that you got saved is this? Do you think God looked down and saw you and he just happened to check you out on a Sunday and here you are at church?

Doing great. You even moved your lips along to several of the songs, even the new one. That you prayed a little bit. You've got your Bible open. And he looks at you right now and he says, finally, it's about time. You are finally faithful enough and now you can enter into my kingdom. Do you think that's how it works? You know that's not how it works at all, right?

Do you know that he looks into your deepest, darkest moments? Do you know he sees the you that you don't want anybody to see? He sees deep down into the shame, deep down into the regret, deep down into the condemnation. He sees deep down into the anxiety and into the fear and into the filth and into the problems in your life that are of your own doing. He sees the worst moments of you that you would die if anybody else knew. In those deep, dark moments, he chooses you. You. And he says, that's right, I want you.

All the filth, all the grime. And I'm going to justify you. That means clean you up. And I'm going to pay for you. And I'm going to adopt you as my very own. And there's nothing, nothing, nothing, even your own faithlessness at times that could take you out of my hand.

That's what he's talking about here. And listen, that is the beginning of discipleship. Not about how much Bible you read and how much you know, but taking that first step. You know what it means to begin the faith journey with Jesus? Is that you begin admitting it, God, I need help. I need you to do for me what I can. There's no way I could do on my own. I don't need just a better version of me.

I need you to do a miracle from the inside out. And then you say, I believe. I believe that somehow Jesus, when you died on the cross, that counted for me. Even if I can't fully explain all the intricacies of substitutionary atonement, I believe that when Jesus pushed up on his nail-pierced feet and says, it is finished, that that thing counted for me. And now I want to trust him for my salvation instead of trusting me for my salvation. I'm going to confess him as Lord and Him as Savior.

That is just a confession that I admit it. I'm a sinner in need of his Savior. I believe that when Christ died on the cross, that counted for me, and I want to confess you as Lord and Savior. So I want to invite you to the very first step in what it means to be a follower of Jesus. That first step is that I no longer trust me for my salvation. Father, I trust you and what your son did for me at the cross. And then that begins the journey of discipleship. You please bow your head and close your eyes.

Let me ask you this question. Do you know him? Have you ever trusted Jesus as your Savior? Not are you religious? Not have you been to a church for a long time. I'm not asking about how good you are or bad you've been. All of that is irrelevant at the cross. The only thing that matters is this, do you know him? And if today, for the very first time, you were ready to take that first step of discipleship, that for the very first time you were ready to admit, I'm a sinner and need of a Savior,

and that you were ready to believe that when Christ died on the cross, somehow that counted for you. And in this moment, you were ready to confess him as Lord and Savior. Then when I count to three, I want you to raise your hand. A hand in the air does not save you. You were just signifying to God. God, here I am. I surrender my life to you.

So if that's you and you're ready to make that decision for the first time, and all of our campuses, raise your hand in one, two, three. Lifted high. Dear Father in heaven, God, we love you because you first loved us. And God, this is love. Not that we loved you, but you loved us and sent your son as the propitiation. for our sin, the payment that satisfies. And Christ, because God is fully satisfied in you, if we are in you, then he would never be

dissatisfied in us. God, we thank you for your grace. We thank you that even when we have moments where we stumble and fall, that you always pick us up. God, we thank you that because of the gospel, that when we sin we don't have to run and hide from you, but we can run to you. because you were fully aware of what you have saved us from, and you call us sons and daughters of the most high king.

God, we thank you that there is salvation in this place even today, and we give you all the glory. We pray it in Jesus' name. Amen.