Discipleship 4: Established in the Word by Pastor Abidan Shah

DISCIPLESHIP – ESTABLISHED IN THE WORD by Pastor Shah, Clearview Church, Henderson

Introduction: Question for all the men – “How many of ya’ll enjoy reading instruction manuals before you put something together?” Ladies – Not sure why but we men like to figure things out. That’s not a big deal if you’re just trying to assemble your little girl’s doll house or some small book shelf. It’s a big deal if you’re trying to put together the ceiling fan or the garbage disposal! So also, in life, we need an instruction manual. The Bible is God’s instruction manual for every situation in life. In fact, to be a disciple of Jesus, we have to follow the Bible, we have to be established in his Word. Failure to follow the instruction manual is disastrous and destroys our witness to Christ.

Matthew 28    18And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, evento the end of the age.” Amen.

Question: One mark of discipleship is“Teaching them to observe all things.”Are you learning all things that Jesus has commanded us? Are you observing his commandments?Are you established in the Word? Are you a disciple of Jesus? Are you saved?

Context:  As you know, we’ve been in our series on discipleship for the past 5 weeks. We’ve been unpacking theacronym W A T E R, the goal of discipleship, which I’m sure you have memorized by now – WITNESSES + ACCOUNTABILITY + TOGETHERNESS + ESTABLISHED IN THE WORD + REPRODUCING. Today, we are on E.Jesus told his disciples to go and make disciples, baptizing them, and “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.”The question is “what are those things that Jesus commanded his disciples to observe?” If you and I are going to be his disciples, we have to observe all those things as well. 2 major things Jesus taught his disciples:

I. JESUS TAUGHT HIS DISCIPLES THE MEANING OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

Background:Jesus began his ministry by preaching – “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17) To a Jewish person, the kingdom of God/heaven had 2 meanings:first, God is the sovereign king over the whole world but only indirectly at the present time; and, second, God will be the direct king who will judge the wicked and bring glory, justice, and righteousness for his people Israel but this will be in the future end time. Although, Jesus affirmed both, he added something they didn’t expect – the future kingdom of God had already begun by his coming. This was very unnerving and confusing for the religious leaders because their world was still being run by the Romans and the tax collectors were still collecting taxes and the prostitutes were still prostituting. They believed that the Messiah would usher in the direct future kingdom of God but they were not convinced that this was happening or that Jesus was the one. Jesus told them that the kingdom of God was real and had begun but it was internal and spiritual. He used parables to explain it– “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field…The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal…the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field…the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls…” (Matthew 13) In other words, the kingdom of God/heaven is only visible to those who believed.

Throughout the gospels, Jesus laid out the requirements for entering into the kingdom:

• Reject self-righteousness – Matthew 21:31 “Assuredly, I say to you (chief priests and elders) that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.”
• Reject sin’s attraction – Mark 9:47“if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire.”
• Don’t rely on earthly treasures – Mark 10:25“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
• Don’t give lip service – Matthew 7:21“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”
• Don’t have second thoughts – Luke 9:62But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
• Have a childlike faith – Luke 18:17“Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”
• Be born again – John 3:3Jesus answered and said to him (Nicodemus), “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Bottom line: When a person rejects self-righteousness and sin’s attraction and receives Jesus as their Savior with a childlike faith, they are born again and they enter the internal and spiritual kingdom of God. Now they become a true disciple of Jesus.

Question:Have you entered the kingdom of God? If you say, “I have to see it to believe it,” you will never see it. Have you received Jesus as your Savior? Have you been born again? Are you willing to have a childlike faith?

II. JESUS TAUGHT HIS DISCIPLES THE LIFESTYLE OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

Background:  Jesus often said and did things that appeared contrary to the law. Mark 7:15“There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man.”This was a clear violation of the dietary laws! Luke 6:1“Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields. And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and atethem,rubbingthemin theirhands.” This was a clear violation of the Sabbath laws! What exactly was Jesus doing? Was Jesus just some anti-establishment, non-conformist, agitator bent on tearing down the Old Testament law? Of course not. He was teaching his disciples the difference between the essence of the law and the letter of the law. Matthew 23:23“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightiermattersof the law: justice and mercy and faith.” Jesus was not against the law. He was calling his disciples to the heart of the law and to God’s standard of righteousness. Matthew 5  17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Lawor the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” 20For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceedsthe righteousnessof the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. In fact, the Sermon on the Mount is about this higher standard. Remember the “You’ve heard that it was said, but I say to you” passages, the antitheses –

• You’ve heard ‘don’t murder,’ but I say ‘don’t even get angry without a cause.’
• You’ve heard ‘don’t commit adultery,’ but I say ‘don’t even look with lust.’
• You’ve heard ‘eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth,’ but I say ‘turn the other cheek.’
• You’ve heard ‘love your neighbor and hate your enemy,’ but I say ‘love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.’

But there’s more – Jesus was not just calling his disciples to a higher standard of righteousness. He was calling them to understand the impossibility of reaching God’s standard of righteousness. He was teaching them that he was about to do for them what they would never be able to do on their own. Paul explains it best in Romans 8    3“For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, Goddidby sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,4that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

Question: Are you trying to live by the Old Testament standards? They are too low. Jesus expects higher. You say, “I guess I can’t live up to God’s standards.” That’s exactly what he wants from you. Now you are ready to receive his righteousness by asking him to be your Savior. He will teach you what it means to walk by the Spirit.

Invitation:Are you a disciple of Christ? Have you entered into his kingdom? Are you walking by faith? Are you living by the higher standard of righteousness? Do you realize that without Christ and the Holy Spirit you can’t do it? Are you daily feeding upon his Word? Are you established in his Word? That’s not just the gospels or the New Testament. It is the entire Word of God.

What is the result? Colossians 3   15And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.