if you have a Bible and I hope you or somebody around you does that you can look on with let me invite you to open with me to Matthew chapter 4. it's the first book in the New Testament Matthew chapter four feel free to use table of contents if you need to and as you're turning I want to welcome those of you it other locations around Metro DC and others online it's really good to be together around God's word I Want to Jump Right In and ask a question is it possible to be a cultural Christian but not actually be a follower of Jesus to do culturally Christian things like going to church or reading the Bible or praying and living according to good Christian morals or at least the Christian morals that are highlighted in a particular culture but to not actually know Jesus is that possible According To Jesus it absolutely is in fact according to Jesus it's possible not just for a few people here and there but for a lot of people in Matthew Chapter 7 Jesus tells a group of disciples on that day many will say to me Lord Lord do we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do Mighty works in your name and then I will declare to them I never knew you depart from me you workers of lawlessness there are many people Jesus uses the word many who will be shocked one day to find that though they did Christian things in his name he says it three different times Christian things and they thought their eternity was Secure they will discover that they were deceived many people will be shocked to stand before Jesus one day and hear him say I never knew you away from me so what does it mean then to actually to biblically know Jesus that's an important question and eternally important question and I want to show you today how God answers it so we're walking through a series right now and why you need a Biblical Church and today I want to show you specifically why you need biblical discipleship in a church why you need a Biblical not a cultural understanding of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus I want to show you what it means to be a disciple a follower of Jesus a Christian according to God and then I want to show you why this is critical and I don't use that word lightly why this is critical for your life and for the people around you why this is critical for your friends for your spouse for your marriage for your kids for your parents your co-workers or for anyone else you interact with and for people you don't even know around the world so let's hear the word of God Matthew Chapter 4 verses 18 through 22. describe Jesus first interaction with an invitation to his very first disciples so how did that play out Verse 18 tells us while walking by the Sea of Galilee Jesus saw two brothers Simon who's 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 nuts and followed him and 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 nuts and he called them immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him so Jesus initial invitation to the very first disciples contained two simple words follow me what do these words mean well let's take them in reverse order first who's the me who's being followed here surely realizing who Jesus is is essential to understanding what it means to follow him and I count at least 20 different pictures of Jesus in just the first four chapters of Matthew leading up to this verse to give us a stunning picture of who the me is I want to show you this quickly I would encourage you to write them down who is Jesus starting back in Matthew chapter 1 verse one you feel free to turn back in your Bible there just a couple of chapters where Matthew writes the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David the son of Abraham there's four pictures of Jesus right there in verse 1.
number one Jesus is the savior that's what his name Jesus means the one who will save us from our sins number two Jesus is the Messiah he is Jesus Christ Christ is not his last name it means the promised one the one promised throughout the Old Testament to come number three Jesus is the son of David he's the promised King from the line of David and number four Jesus is the son of Abraham Matthew takes us all the way back to Genesis in the very beginning of God's people there so that's a loaded first verse and it's followed by a list of names that show how every one and everything in the Old Testament pointed to Jesus the Christ the son of David the son of Abraham which leads to picture number five Jesus is the center of all history everything in all of history pointed forward to Jesus and everything in all of history since then has pointed back to Jesus Jesus is at the center of it all you are not at the center of History I am not at the center of History our generation is not at the center of History the United States of America is not at the center of History throughout history billions of people have come and billions of people have gone empires have come and empires have gone countries Nations kings queens presidents dictators rulers have come and gone at the center of it all stands one man Jesus Christ [Music] that's the first half of Matthew chapter one then you get into the second half his virgin birth where we see the sixth picture of Jesus he is fully human and number seven he is fully Divine born of the spirit through a woman unlike anyone else ever born the Incarnation the most extraordinary miracle in all of the Bible Jesus is God in the flesh the Savior Messiah son of David Son of Abraham Center of History fully human fully God that's just Matthew 1 Matthew chapter two picture number eight Jesus is The Sovereign over the wise as Magi from the East come looking for a king and they bow at his crib number nine Jesus is The Shepherd of the week Matthew quotes from Micah chapter five to show how Jesus Will Rule God's people as a Good Shepherd don't you love this The Sovereign over the wise is The Shepherd of the weak then the Old Testament imagery gets even richer number 10 Jesus inaugurates a new Exodus imagery that's clear as God brings his son into Egypt and then back out of Egypt as a picture of the rescue and Redemption from sin that he would bring number 11 Jesus ends the mournful Exile you study Matthew Chapter 2 and you see how God and the coming of Jesus promises hope to the Weeping women of Bethlehem who've lost their baby boys Jesus has come to end the mournful Exile of God's people in the middle of it all number 12 Jesus loves his fiercest enemies by the time you finish Matthew Chapter 2 you realize Jesus has come to save people who seek to kill him Jesus loves sinners like you and me all of that in Chapter 2 then in Matthew chapter 3 four more pictures of Jesus here he's the Redeemer King John the Baptist declares the king is coming he's going to redeem he's going to make new all who repent and believe in him and number 14 Jesus is the righteous Judge John the Baptist tells us a winnering fork is in his hand and he will separate the grain from the chaff and all who do not repent of sin and believe it in him will be burned with unquenchable fire then after that John baptizes Jesus in a rare glimpse into heaven we see two more pictures number 15 Jesus is filled with God the spirit the spirit of God resting upon him and number 16 Jesus is loved by God the father as a voice booms from Heaven saying this is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased all of that sets the stage for Jesus's Temptations in Matthew chapter 4 where we were discovered Jesus number 17 Jesus is the new Adam meaning that where the first Adam fell to the Temptation Of The Devil Jesus stood Jesus did what no one else in history has ever done or will ever do he resisted Temptation fully did not give in one time to sin he's the new Adam and number 18 Jesus is the true Israel meaning Jesus is the faithful and obedient son who passed the test of Temptation in the wilderness to conquer sin and Satan which All Leads up to the verses right before what we just read where Matthew quotes from Isaiah and we see number 19 Jesus is the light of the world what Isaiah prophesied hundreds of years before has come true the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light and then number 20 Jesus is the Hope for all nations it's Galilee of the Gentiles to whom Jesus first reveals himself do you see who this portrait of Jesus is in such a way that when we get to verse 19 and Matthew chapter 4 and we see Jesus saying to four fishermen follow me we need to feel the weight and The Wonder of the one who is speaking this is Jesus the Savior Messiah the one promised to come in the kingly line of David the father of God's people Israel fully human and fully Divine the one to whom wise men from the Nations bow whose birth ushers in the culmination of generations of Prophecy and anticipation he's the center of History God In the Flesh Redeemer King and righteous judge of the world perfectly filled with God the spirit completely loved by God the Father the only man who has conquered sin the light of the world and the hope for all nations do we realize who Jesus is because when we do we will realize that Jesus is clearly and absolutely worthy of more than casual adherence and Cultural Association we cannot reduce Jesus to a poor puny savior who's just begging for people in the 21st century to accept him into their hearts and associate with him on the side of their lives accept him as if Jesus needs to be accepted by us Jesus does not need your acceptance he doesn't need my acceptance Jesus is infinitely worthy of all glory and all the universe he doesn't need us at all we need him [Music] God help us to stop patronizing Jesus he is worthy of far more than casual adherence and Cultural Association Jesus is Worthy of total abandonment and supreme adoration in our lives [Music] we're not playing a religious game hearing we're talking about the Savior King of the universe the righteous judge of all the nations God and the flesh saying follow me the thought alone is baffling mind boggling Jesus this Jesus comes to you and says follow me there's no potential casual response here it's either turn and run or bow and worship you look at Luke's parallel account of Jesus Calling these disciples and you'll see as soon as Peter realized who Jesus was he fell on his face then Rose and followed him everything would be different in these men's lives because of this Encounter With Jesus everything you go back to Matthew chapter 4 verse 17 right before this Jesus says repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is near that word repent means to turn from the direction you were walking in and go in a completely different direction is to renounce one way of life for an entirely new way of life Jesus says later in Luke 14 33 any of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple and you think about it this kind of renouncing it's all over Matthew chapter four think about what it meant for these fishermen when it says immediately they left their Nets immediately they left the boat and their father and they followed him think about what they were leaving behind they were leaving behind their comfort they were leaving behind everything that was familiar to them all that was natural for them leaving comfort for uncertainty notice Jesus didn't tell them where they were going he just said who they'd be with you catch that followers of Jesus don't always know where they're going but they always know who they're with and that is enough they were leaving behind their Comforts they were leaving behind their careers this was an abandonment of profession at least temporarily for these guys now we're going to come back to how all of this applies to us but just see feel how it applied to them put yourself in their shoes they're leaving behind their comfort careers their possessions these guys obviously were not the economically Elite in their society but the fact that they had a boat and successful trade as fishermen shows these men had much to lose in following Jesus and we find out later they likely still had a boat and various other things the reality is though at this moment they followed Jesus with nothing in their hands their possessions their position this is significant it's one of the things that set Jesus disciples apart from other disciples who would follow rabbis in that day disciples would often attach themselves to a rabbi in order to promote themselves it was like a step up the ladder toward greater religious status and position but that was not the case with these disciples this was a step down the ladder because the rabbi they followed would continually be rejected by the religious Elite they were leaving behind their families James and John leave their fathers they're not the their father they're not the only ones who we see doing this Luke chapter nine Jesus tells another potential disciple don't even go back and say goodbye to your family they were leaving behind their friends their safety this is a rabbi a teacher who would soon say to these same men I send you out like sheep in the middle of wolves all men will hate you because of me they will persecute you they were leaving behind their safety their sin that's the core of what it means to repent to turn from your sin and all of this ultimately pointing to the fact that they were leading behind themselves this is the message that would become Central for any prospective follower of Jesus Luke 9 23 if anyone is going to come after me let him deny himself take up his cross daily and follow me there's a definition of following Jesus denying yourself and taking up a cross in a world where everything revolves around yourself protect yourself promote yourself preserve yourself entertain yourself Comfort yourself take care of yourself even a church culture that revolves around making Christianity as safe and comfortable for you as possible the author of Christianity actually says crucify yourself so don't buy it so many people have bought it including some of you in this Gathering today the idea that all you need to do is make a decision say a prayer sign a card become a Christian and keep your life as you know it until you get to heaven it's not true you become a follower of Jesus you lose your life as you know it now let me be very careful here I'm not saying and I cannot would not say based on the whole of the Bible that every follower of Jesus must lose their career sell or give away all their possessions or leave their family behind physically die for the gospel but the Bible is absolutely clear on this for all who follow Jesus comfort and certainty in this world are no longer our primary concerns our careers now revolve around whatever Jesus calls us to do and however he wants to use us and our careers for the good of others and to spread the good news of his kingdom our possessions are not our own we no longer live for material pleasure in this world we forsake material pleasure in this world in order to live for Eternal treasure in the world to come that means you live we live very differently in Metro Washington DC position is no longer our priority when it comes to family absolutely based on the whole of the Bible we're commanded to honor our parents to love a wife or a husband to provide for children so you can't use passages like this to justify being a lousy son or daughter or spouse or parents or whatever but our love for Jesus according to Matthew chapter 10. should make our closest family member relationships or friendships look like hate in comparison and we go wherever he says to go knowing that because self is no longer our God safety is no longer our priority let me ask you a question are you willing to pack your bags and move permanently to the Middle East for the spread of the Gospel if Jesus tells you to if not that I would just ask the follow-up question what makes you think you're following Jesus because followers of Jesus have sacrificed the right to determine the direction of their lives sack followers of Jesus don't call those shots anymore he does and to be clear what I'm talking about what we're seeing here is not mature Christianity this is basic Christianity if anyone would come after me this is Elementary about what it means to follow Jesus it is to die to yourself to do whatever he tells you to do the fact that this sounds like a big commitment shows how much we've deluded what the initial surrender of a Christian is this is Galatians 2 20. we've been crucified with Christ we don't even live anymore it's not my life anymore it's Christ who lives in me and the life I now live I live by faith I trust him completely with my life this is Christianity I think about a couple I know and love when they were moving to the Middle East for the spread of the Gospel to a dangerous to reach people group and the husband told me we have friends and family some many of them professing Christians who've told us we are Reckless and he said in light of three billion people who are unreached by the gospel and on a road that leads to an eternal hell and nobody's even told them how they can go to heaven through Jesus he said we must go he said the fact that these three billion people haven't been reached yet is evidence that we are in far greater danger of being safe than we are of being Reckless in danger of being safe followers of Jesus do not bow at the altar of safety and comfort in this world as followers of Jesus we die to sin we die to self we lay down our lives to follow him however wherever he leads to follow Jesus is to hold Loosely to everything in this world our Comforts our careers our possessions our position our families our friends our safety ourselves and to cling tightly to Jesus and to many this may sound admittedly extreme but don't forget who the me is here to leave behind lay down everything in your life doesn't make sense Until you realize who Jesus is and when you realize who Jesus is then laying down leaving behind everything is the only thing that makes sense you remember Matthew chapter 13 verse 44 Jesus says the Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field which a man found and covered up then in his Joy he goes and sees all that he has and buys that field what a picture he's walking through a field he stumbles upon a treasure that's hidden nobody else knows it's there and he realizes how valuable this treasure is worth more than everything else he has put together so what does he do he goes he sells all that he has talk about Reckless you're selling everything and not just selling all he has with joy he does I'm giving it all away sell it all and imagine going up to that guy like what are you thinking what are you doing you're selling everything you have you're crazy he's like I'm going to buy that field over there you're like what are you doing you're gonna buy yourself everything you have to buy that field and he smiles he's like I gotta hunch he smiles why because inside he knows he's actually found something that's worth losing everything for ladies and gentlemen Jesus is someone who is worth losing everything for that's the whole point Jesus is Worthy of more than cultural Christianity he's worthy of so much more so let me give you a sentence then that summarizes biblical discipleship what it means biblically not culturally to be a disciple of Jesus biblically to be a disciple of Jesus is to trust and obey his leadership that's what we've seen to this point everything we have which may start to make us nervous until we realize who he is and we realize that of course to be a disciple of Jesus is to trust and obey his leadership this makes no sense for us to say well we'll trust you to save us once we die but we will not trust you to lead Our Lives until we die that's absurdity labeled cultural Christianity biblically to be a disciple is to trust and obey his leadership no matter what that means and so keep going to receive and enjoy his love so do you feel the Wonder in these words follow me a God In the Flesh approaching four fishermen looking them in the eyes and personally inviting them into relationship with him this is amazing I mentioned earlier it was common first century Judaism for potential disciples to seek out a rabbi to study under the beauty of what we're seeing here is that it's not these men coming to Jesus it's Jesus coming to them this is Jesus doing here at the beginning of the New Testament what God has done throughout the Old Testament God coming to Noah God choosing Abraham God choosing Moses god choosing David God choosing prophets God choosing Israel to be his people Deuteronomy chapter 7.
