Transforming Lives: The Call to Discipleship

 

Summary

In this time of reflection and potential transformation, we stand at the threshold of a significant shift within the church. Historically, there have been periods where the church's focus was not on discipleship and transformation into Christlikeness. Instead, it was often about maintaining proper beliefs to secure a place in the afterlife, sometimes neglecting the development of character and spiritual growth. This has led to a disconnect, where the church, despite its strength, has not always been a beacon of Christ's teachings. However, we are now entering a period where the emphasis is returning to discipleship and the revolutionary message of Jesus.

Jesus' mission was not merely about establishing churches or evangelizing in the traditional sense; it was about a world revolution, a transformation of hearts and minds to align with God's kingdom. This revolution is rooted in the knowledge of Christ, which has been mistakenly relegated to the realm of faith alone, devoid of the power that comes from true understanding. The church's role is to restore this knowledge, to bring the reality of God's kingdom into everyday life, and to live in the easy yoke of Christ, which is not burdensome but liberating.

Spiritual formation is central to this transformation. It is not about modifying behavior but about changing the very sources of behavior—our minds, hearts, and souls. When these are aligned with Christ, living in His way becomes natural and joyful. The yoke of Christ is about partnering with Him to bring God's reign into ordinary life, a task that is light because of who we are yoked with.

The Great Commission calls us to make disciples, not merely converts. This involves immersing people in the reality of the Trinity and teaching them to live as Jesus taught. Discipleship is about drawing people into a life that is so compelling that they desire to follow Christ. It is about living in the kingdom of God now, experiencing eternal life as a present reality, and allowing that life to transform the world around us.

Key Takeaways:

- Discipleship and Transformation: The church is moving towards a focus on discipleship and transformation into Christlikeness. This shift is essential for aligning with Jesus' revolutionary message, which calls for a transformation of hearts and minds to reflect God's kingdom. [01:17]

- Knowledge and Faith: True faith is intertwined with knowledge. The separation of faith from knowledge has weakened the church's power. Restoring the dignity of knowledge in Christ is crucial for living out the teachings of Jesus and bringing His kingdom into reality. [06:07]

- Spiritual Formation: Spiritual formation is about transforming the mind, heart, and soul, not just modifying behavior. When these are aligned with Christ, living in His way becomes natural and joyful, reflecting the easy yoke of Christ. [14:16]

- The Great Commission: Making disciples involves immersing people in the reality of the Trinity and teaching them to live as Jesus taught. It is about drawing people into a life that is so compelling that they desire to follow Christ, experiencing eternal life now. [24:24]

- Living in the Kingdom: Eternal life is a present reality, caught up in God's life. It is about living interactively with God, experiencing His kingdom now, and allowing that life to transform the world around us. This is the heart of Jesus' gospel. [34:10]

Youtube Chapters:

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:17] - The Church's Shift to Discipleship
[03:30] - World Revolution Through Christ
[06:07] - Restoring Knowledge in Faith
[09:04] - The Role of Spokespeople for Christ
[12:14] - Understanding Spiritual Formation
[14:16] - Transformation Beyond Behavior
[16:14] - The Easy Yoke of Christ
[18:48] - The Kingdom of God in Daily Life
[24:24] - The Great Commission Explained
[26:58] - Making Disciples Through Attraction
[29:38] - Avoiding Legalism in Discipleship
[34:10] - Living in the Kingdom Now
[36:58] - The Gospel of Jesus
[40:27] - Discipleship for the World
[42:41] - Unity Through Discipleship

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
1. Matthew 11:28-30
2. Matthew 28:18-20
3. John 17:3

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Observation Questions:

1. In Matthew 11:28-30, what does Jesus promise to those who come to Him, and how does He describe His yoke? [16:14]

2. According to the sermon, what has been the historical focus of the church, and how is it shifting now? [01:17]

3. What does the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 instruct believers to do, and how is this related to the concept of discipleship? [24:24]

4. How does the sermon describe the relationship between faith and knowledge, and why is this distinction important? [06:07]

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Interpretation Questions:

1. How might the concept of Jesus' "easy yoke" challenge common perceptions of the Christian life as difficult or burdensome? [16:14]

2. What does it mean to "immerse people in the reality of the Trinity" as part of making disciples, according to the Great Commission? [24:24]

3. How does the sermon suggest that the separation of faith from knowledge has impacted the church's effectiveness? [06:07]

4. In what ways does the sermon propose that spiritual formation goes beyond mere behavior modification? [14:16]

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Application Questions:

1. Reflect on your own life: Are there areas where you feel burdened by religious expectations rather than experiencing the "easy yoke" of Christ? How can you begin to lay those burdens down? [16:14]

2. Consider the people in your life who might be curious about faith. How can you engage them in a conversation that immerses them in the reality of the Trinity this week? [24:24]

3. How can you actively seek to restore the connection between faith and knowledge in your personal spiritual journey? What steps can you take to deepen your understanding of Christ's teachings? [06:07]

4. Identify one aspect of your character that you feel needs transformation. How can you align your mind, heart, and soul with Christ to naturally reflect His way of living? [14:16]

5. Think about your role in your church community. How can you contribute to the shift towards discipleship and transformation into Christlikeness? What practical steps can you take to support this movement? [01:17]

6. How can you live out the reality of eternal life as a present experience in your daily interactions and decisions? What changes might this require in your current lifestyle? [34:10]

7. Reflect on the message you convey through your words and actions. Does it pull others towards discipleship? How can you ensure that your life and message align with the gospel that Jesus preached? [36:58]

Devotional

Day 1: Embracing Discipleship for Heart and Mind Transformation
The church is experiencing a pivotal shift towards discipleship and transformation into Christlikeness. Historically, the focus was often on maintaining correct beliefs for the afterlife, sometimes at the expense of character and spiritual growth. This has led to a disconnect where the church, despite its strength, has not always embodied Christ's teachings. Now, the emphasis is returning to discipleship, aligning with Jesus' revolutionary message that calls for a transformation of hearts and minds to reflect God's kingdom. This shift is essential for the church to become a true beacon of Christ's teachings, focusing on the development of character and spiritual growth. [01:17]

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:2, ESV)

Reflection: In what ways can you actively participate in your own spiritual transformation this week, focusing on both heart and mind?


Day 2: Restoring the Power of Knowledge in Faith
True faith is deeply intertwined with knowledge. The separation of faith from knowledge has weakened the church's power, as faith without understanding lacks the transformative power that Jesus intended. Restoring the dignity of knowledge in Christ is crucial for living out His teachings and bringing His kingdom into reality. This involves a commitment to understanding the revolutionary message of Jesus and allowing that knowledge to transform our lives and the world around us. [06:07]

"For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge." (2 Peter 1:5, ESV)

Reflection: How can you seek to deepen your understanding of Christ's teachings this week, and how might this knowledge impact your faith journey?


Day 3: Spiritual Formation Beyond Behavior Modification
Spiritual formation is not merely about modifying behavior but about transforming the mind, heart, and soul. When these are aligned with Christ, living in His way becomes natural and joyful, reflecting the easy yoke of Christ. This transformation is central to experiencing the liberating power of God's kingdom in everyday life. It involves a deep partnership with Christ, allowing His reign to permeate our ordinary experiences and bring about true joy and freedom. [14:16]

"And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:18, ESV)

Reflection: What areas of your life need transformation beyond mere behavior change, and how can you invite Christ into this process?


Day 4: The Great Commission: Immersing in the Trinity
The Great Commission calls us to make disciples, not merely converts. This involves immersing people in the reality of the Trinity and teaching them to live as Jesus taught. Discipleship is about drawing people into a life that is so compelling that they desire to follow Christ, experiencing eternal life now. It is about living in the kingdom of God as a present reality and allowing that life to transform the world around us. [24:24]

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:19-20, ESV)

Reflection: How can you actively participate in the Great Commission this week, and who in your life can you invite into a deeper relationship with Christ?


Day 5: Experiencing Eternal Life in the Present
Eternal life is a present reality, caught up in God's life. It is about living interactively with God, experiencing His kingdom now, and allowing that life to transform the world around us. This is the heart of Jesus' gospel, inviting us to live in the fullness of God's kingdom today. By embracing this reality, we can experience the transformative power of God's presence in our daily lives and become agents of change in the world. [34:10]

"And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." (John 17:3, ESV)

Reflection: In what ways can you live more fully in the reality of God's kingdom today, and how might this change your interactions with the world around you?

Quotes

I think that we are on the verge of a time when the church is going to be able to make some decisions. That may be a funny way of talking to you, but for long periods in the history of the church as the history of Israel, there were really no significant decisions that could have been made. [00:00:09]

And I think that we are coming. We're coming into a time when many churches and leaders and Christians who aren't in leadership positions will be able to say, it's all about discipleship and transformation into Christlikeness. Now, if you read the New Testament or even the Old Testament, you might have come to that conclusion already. [00:00:55]

It's about knowledge of Christ today. It's not about faith, except insofar as faith is a reflection of knowledge. It's about knowing Christ. And I want to say that one of the things that has happened in the last hundred and a few more years was that society, through its institutions, has very carefully taken Christ and his teachings and set them out of the domain of knowledge and put them into an area called faith. [00:04:58]

Spiritual formation is the process of transforming the person into Christ-likeness through transforming the essential parts of the person, the mind. Already tonight, two or three times, transforming the mind has been mentioned. That's absolutely fundamental. But the other parts of the self, and we'll be studying this in later sessions, also have to be transformed. [00:13:37]

Spiritual transformation is not about behavior modification. It is about changing the sources of behavior. And the behavior will take care of itself when the mind is right and the heart is right and the body and the soul and the relationships that we have in our social world. When they're right, the whole person simply steps into the way of Christ and lives there with joy and strength. [00:14:24]

The person who has the easiest, the happiest, the strongest life is the person who walks in the yoke with Christ. That's the only way to have it. Because only as we do that do we begin to draw the strength and direction that straightens out everything that is wrong in human existence. And it does lead to a battle sometimes with the world going wrong around us. [00:16:36]

And with that, I want to move on to the second passage for concentration known as the Great Commission. But maybe before, just before I do that, I ask you to think, is Jesus' word, to whom is he speaking? And you might say, well, anyone who's weary and heavy laden, I think there we need to put the passage into context because Jesus had now come into a period when he was facing great opposition, great rejection. [00:19:24]

And Jesus is saying, take my yoke. Take the yoke of official religion off of your neck. Now, then, you can go back to the Bible, and you can go back and redeem that. But you have to learn from him how to live in the yoke of the kingdom of God before you can do that. And I'm not one who thinks that we ought to really criticize the church very much. [00:22:00]

Making disciples is a matter of pulling people, of drawing them in through who we are and what we say. A disciple is someone who has become so ravished with Christ that they want to be like him. They look at life in the kingdom of God and they say, this is the best thing I ever saw in my life. I must have that. And that is what we do. We do that in church. [00:26:34]

The pastor or spokesperson for Christ exemplifies eternal living and brings it to bear on everything around them. Eternal living is life caught up in God. It's not later. Eternal life is a kind of life that we have now because our life is caught up in God's life. What he is doing is a part of what we are doing and what we are doing is a part of what he is doing. [00:33:32]

And I've watched it for years and have seen the testimonies of people who hear this and suddenly they realize, this is the gospel. This is what Jesus is about. Jesus is about bringing the life of the kingdom of God into my life now and making me a citizen of that kingdom. And then it's not over because we spend our lives seeking the kingdom of God. [00:37:28]

Discipleship is for the world. The world that God so loved. And that he has great hopes for. And he's going to bring great things out of. That's where discipleship is. belongs and if we shrink discipleship down to church work we'll never see its power to transform ourselves or to transform the world that is around us but as we step into discipleship to Christ in the great kingdom of God out in the world as well as in the church then we began to see a basis upon which disciples can come together. [00:40:23]

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Transcript
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