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The Joy of discipleship Daniel Patz, Lead Pastor Grace Church, Sunday Worship Matthew 13:44-46 May 31st, 2009 INTRODUCTION Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, I want to continue to talk about our calling as we move into these summer months. You will be challenged to engage in ministry in a new way – in evangelism. When we talk about our calling we are talking about our discipleship. Those who are called are called by Jesus Christ to follow Him wherever He leads and whatever it costs. Fundamentally, that is what it means to live the Christian life – following our Lord and Master, the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. It is a great heresy that often distorts our minds and lives with the thinking that discipleship is an option for a Christian. Or, that to follow Jesus as a disciple is a second stage of the Christian life for those who are super-spiritual and highly dedicated to God in a special way. No, all the truly saved are the true followers of Jesus Christ. There is no genuine Christian who does not have his or her life transformed by the call to follow the Master-Shepherd wherever He leads and whatever it costs. So the next few Sundays I want to talk about discipleship from the words of the one we are called to follow, namely, Jesus. I would like to begin this morning by looking at the JOY of DISCIPLESHIP from two short parables Jesus told in Matthew (these two stories are a pair): Matthew 13:44-46 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. (45) "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, (46) who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. We will look more closely and practically at the radicalness of discipleship in the coming weeks. We will look at the concept of bearing our cross – but this morning I want to talk about the overwhelming joy and pleasure that dominates and liberates the true disciple of Jesus. THE JOY OF DISCIPLESHIP 1. THE GRAND DISCOVERY I want you first to notice the grand discovery in these two stories: “treasure in a field, which a man found” “merchant...who in finding one pearl of great value” These two men find something that changes the rest of their lives. They will never be the same. Their eyes have been opened and they can not look at the world in the same way. There lives will be forever altered. This is what happens when a person truly hears the call of Jesus the Shepherd with ears that have been granted by the Father (see 2 Cor 4:6). Peter’s Call: Matthew 4:18-20 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. (19) And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." (20) Immediately they left their nets and followed him. Levi’s Call: Mark 2:14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him. Philip and Nathaniel: John 1:43-49 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." (44) Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. (45) Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." (46) Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." (47) Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!" (48) Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." (49) Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" In faith they followed Jesus. They trust in the One who called them and they delighted in Him. There was a discovery – Here is something of great value! It is so easy to sinfully slip into a way of thinking about our faith that fails to grasp that fact that the One who has called us is supremely valuable. 2. THE HIGH COST I want you to notice the high cost that these two men are more than willing to pay for the treasure that they discovered. “…he goes and sells all that he has and buys the field” “…went and sold all that he had and bought it [the pearl]” Now I want to make this very clear in this point. Jesus is not teaching, neither am I, that you can ever buy the Treasure of Christ and eternal life with our money, possessions, works, dedication, etc. We cannot do this. However, Jesus consistently teaches that coming to Christ involves faith and repentance. Get this – faith and repentance! Faith and repentance is of such a nature that gives up all that gets in the way of truly enjoying and believing the Object. As we will see in the coming weeks, Jesus will tell people over and over again – you must pay a great cost if you will follow me. Here are some of the most prominent: Mark 10:17-27 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" (18) And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. (19) You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'" (20) And he said to him, "Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth." (21) And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." (22) Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (23) And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" (24) And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! (25) It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." (26) And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, "Then who can be saved?" (27) Jesus looked at them and said, "With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God." Luke 14:25-33 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, (26) "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. (27) Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. (28) For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? (29) Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, (30) saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' (31) Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? (32) And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. (33) So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. Luke 9:23-25 And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. (24) For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. (25) For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? Luke 9:57-62 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." (58) And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." (59) To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." (60) And Jesus said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." (61) Yet another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home." (62) Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." In this parable the two men are willing to give up all to gain the treasure. Following Jesus by faith and in repentance means we give up: § Self-righteousness – we can’t do anything good in ourselves – our works are filthy in his eyes § Self-reliance – we need God’s help for everything § Self-perspective – the Bible must now shape how we think and look at things § Self-adoration – the desire to receive praise and honor and be first must be gone § Self-governance – autonomous freedom is out the window – we now are slaves to a new Master § Self-hold on possessions – family, money, relationships – renouncing them and hold them in a new way § Self-centered pleasures of sin – we can not longer go after those things SELF MUST BE GIVEN UP! There is a declaration that all that we have is nothing compared to what we now long for. Yes, the renunciation is difficult at one level. But if you asked Levi and Peter, and Paul – they would say – of course I must give them up for something real and lasting. This leads us to the last point. 3. THE GREAT BARGAIN There is a very important word that Jesus uses in the first parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” C. S. Lewis has a famous quote where he talks about the demands of self-denial as disciples. He says that Jesus calls us to great self-denial and sacrifice but not as a. end in itself. Just like the man after the treasure and the merchant – self-denial is the response of the one who has joyfully discovered a treasure so glorious that the cost is nothing and it is a joy to rid themselves of all they had to gain the only thing that now matters. After Jesus finished talking with the rich man who could not sell all and follow him, his disciples (namely Peter) brought up the fact that they had given up all. Here is Jesus’ reply: Mark 10:28-31 Peter began to say to him, "See, we have left everything and followed you." (29) Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, (30) who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. (31) But many who are first will be last, and the last first." The joy of discipleship is found in the great bargain! I cringe when I have to spend a lot of money on something I need to get but I don’t really know if I am getting a good deal. However, when I know I am getting something great I don’t mind paying! The disciple of Jesus has found a treasure hidden in a feed. He goes and he sells all to gain that field.
Jesus,
priceless Treasure, Is Jesus Your treasure so much that you have renounced all to follow Him? Does how you talk show that He is your treasure? Does your spending show He is your treasure? Does the use of your time demonstrate this? Does the opening of your mouth to share the Gospel with others show this?
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