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All Saints Church |
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Thorpe Acre Road, Loughborough, |
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Values: Discipleship
When I was a young Christian I was introduced to a book
which helped me a great deal in understanding what discipleship is about. The
book is by Walter Henrichsen and the title is “Disciples are made not born”.
The title itself is very discerning. Christians are born again into the You are a Christian but are you a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ – a committed learner and follower of the Lord Jesus? Disciples are made not born. The word “made” or “make” obviously comes from the Lord Jesus’ great commission – “… go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20. When people become Christians they are baptized, but the primary way of making disciples is teaching that leads to obedience. “Teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” Teaching them – teaching them everything that Jesus has commanded – teaching them everything that Jesus has commanded so that they may obey. There is no substitute. The logical sequence is teaching that leads to obedience; obedience will lead to transformed minds and lives. Transformed lives will authenticate the teaching, and the process goes on. Discipleship is a big topic and it requires continuing and life-long learning. Today we will just focus on a short passage that is highlighted in the sermon series leaflet prepared by Keith. The passage is Matthew 11:28-30 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." “Come to me.” The Lord Jesus said. He is always calling people to come to him. He is never tired of that. If you are looking for the best teacher and the best leader than respond to his call and learn from him. In Jesus’ days Rabbis belong to an elite class and only the best of the best are called to be their disciples. If you don’t have straight As then there is little hope of joining that band of distinguished people. Jesus is different. He didn’t say if you have first class honours then come and learn from me. He said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened …” (Matt 11:28-29). Wow, no qualification required. If you find life difficult then come and learn to live the way Jesus taught. There are many reasons that one may be weary or burdened – sin, sorrow, anxiety, remorse – but whatever is your reason come to Jesus and you will find rest, rest for your soul. I like playing table tennis, but I played for years
without receiving any coaching. I was better than the average person on the
street but I wasn’t very good. Last year I decided to do something different.
I went twice to a table tennis camp where the coaches were the top-seeded
players in the In a similar way we learn the teaching of the Lord Jesus and practice it over and over again so that his way of thinking becomes our way of thinking and his way of doing things becomes our way of doing things. Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” A yoke is a wooden instrument that is put on a pair of oxen. When the oxen walked in step together the effort required for ploughing is greatly reduced. In New Testament times the phrase “take the yoke” was used to mean “to take on the teaching of a rabbi”. What Jesus is saying is that the yoke – the teaching – of the other rabbis is burdensome. They tie you down in all sorts of legalistic details. But my yoke, my teaching, is not burdensome instead it gives you rest. Here is the paradox, bearing the weight of Jesus’ yoke gives you rest instead of makes you tired. Some Christians think I want salvation but I don’t wan to restrict my life to Jesus’ teaching. I want to be free to do what I like. The paradox is that following Jesus teaching sets you free instead of restricts you. The problem is that we think we know better than Jesus, don’t we. I was watching a young man being coached by one of the
top-seeded Jesus is no ordinary Rabbi. He is the author of life. He knows what really works. He knows what really matters. Jesus said, “Settle matters with your adversary quickly.” (Matt 5:25). But what do we do? We let things fester. Jesus said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matt 5:44) But what do we do? We harbour hatred in our hearts. Jesus said, “Do not worry about your life.” (Matt 6:25) But what do we do? We turn everything into a matter for worrying. Jesus said, "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” (Luke 16:10) But what do we do? We neglect the small things thinking that they don’t matter. Discipleship is a process of recognizing and accepting that we do not naturally do the things that God want us to do. We make mistakes; we make wrong choices. But we want to be changed by applying his principles and values again and again in every situation in life. It is like practicing those shots repeatedly in table tennis until they come naturally. Jesus’ teaching is good, and he is also a good teacher. Jesus described himself like this “I am gentle and humble in heart.” He is not harsh and he is not proud. He doesn’t make you feel small. He doesn’t make you feel bad for the sake of it. What he wants is for you to enjoy your relationship with God rather than being side tracked by worldly pleasure. What he wants is for you to live your life to the full without burning out. What he wants is for you to have influence on those around you because of the way you live. I want to put this passage along side other teachings of Jesus on discipleship so that we can draw out a few more observations. In Matthew 16:24 Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Compare this with “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” Observe that Jesus said that take up his yoke but our own cross. In discipleship we all share the same yoke – the yoke of Jesus – but we all have our own cross. It is his commands that we obey but we apply them to our own situations. My cross is different from yours as my situation is different from yours. We take on Jesus’ yoke but bear our own cross. Another verse I want to consider is Luke 9:62. Jesus said,
"No one who puts his hand
to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the We can live the way we want or we can follow his commands. The choice is ours. You are a Christian but are you a disciple? Have you stopped learning? Have you stopped growing? Does his teaching and his commands mean anything to you anymore? Jesus said, “… go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Jesus wants obedience that springs from a proper understanding of his teaching. Furthermore, he wants obedience that comes from the heart. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” (John 14:15) I have chosen the song “Just as I am” which is the first song we will sing during communion. It is a song in response to Jesus call “Come to me.” In reply we sing, “O Lamb of God, I come.” We come to him not only to receive his salvation but to say, “Lord, Jesus I love you. I want to learn from your teaching. I want to obey your commands. I want to be your disciple.” So when you sing that song I hope you will re-dedicate yourself to Jesus as a disciple. Amen. |
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