Latest / Heart Check Podcast / More Like Jesus (What is Discipleship?)

Transcript

More Like Jesus (What is Discipleship?) · Heart Check Podcast

0:00
If you've ever wondered what discipleship means or what it
0:02
means now to follow Jesus as a disciple, but also not just be a
0:06
disciple yourself, but then to be a disciple maker, this
0:10
episode's Yo, what's up everybody?
0:25
Welcome back to Heart Check podcast.
0:26
I'm your host, Pastor Los. Yeah, let's go.
0:32
I am so excited to dive into this brand new series we're
0:36
stepping into called More Like Jesus.
0:38
I've been listening to you. I know we've dove into a lot of
0:41
who Jesus is in Scripture, learning the theology of him and
0:45
learning through God's word, the truth of Christ.
0:48
But this series is going to be a little bit more practical into
0:51
discipleship. What does it mean to be a
0:53
disciple of Christ, to practically live that out?
0:55
But not just for us, but what does it look like now to be a
0:58
disciple maker, to reach those who don't know Jesus or those
1:03
who are maybe new to the faith, to pour into them and to help
1:06
them in their walk with Christ. And so this new series isn't
1:09
just going to be another series where we talk about Jesus.
1:12
This is a series where the goal is simple, to actually become
1:16
more like him. This is why this series is
1:19
called More like Jesus, not just in what we know, but in how we
1:23
live. My hope with this series isn't
1:25
just to teach you what biblical discipleship looks like.
1:29
It's to ignite something inside of you like a real fire, as Paul
1:34
says in First First Timothy, to fan that flame within you, the
1:39
Holy Spirit that is in you now when you put your faith in
1:41
Jesus. To fan that flame.
1:43
To live out who Christ calls you to be, to be more like him.
1:47
And a passion, not just to hear the Word, but to actually live
1:51
it out. Because at the end of the day,
1:53
our faith in Jesus isn't just something to believe.
1:56
It's meant to be something lived out.
1:58
It's meant to transform us. It's meant to impact every area
2:02
of our life, not just inwardly, but outwardly as well.
2:06
The reason we exist is simple. To be followers of Jesus who
2:10
make more followers of Jesus. To love the Lord God with all
2:14
your heart, heart, mind, soul, and strength.
2:16
And to love your neighbor as yourself.
2:19
And that's what the series is all about.
2:20
Because here's something we don't always talk about enough.
2:23
Discipleship is also evangelism. So I want to real quick give two
2:29
definitions of those two words, 'cause this is really the heart
2:32
of this whole series. Discipleship is becoming more
2:36
like Jesus, to look more like Him, talk more like Him, act
2:40
more like him. The biblical definition, when we
2:43
read through disciples, the disciple biblical definition is
2:48
someone who walks so close to the person they're being
2:51
discipled by that they got their dirt on them.
2:54
That you wanted to pray like your spiritual mentor, you
2:57
wanted to talk like him, act like him, love people like him.
3:01
That when people chose to follow a rabbi or Jesus as the rabbi
3:05
chose his students, you wanted to live so closely with them
3:11
that you started to emulate them.
3:13
As Paul says in Scripture, he says follow me as I follow
3:17
Christ or imitate me as I imitate Christ.
3:21
That Paul had Timothy as his son in the faith that Paul, that
3:25
sorry, Timothy looked at Paul as a father in the faith.
3:29
That he wanted to emulate Paul, not because Paul is Jesus, but
3:33
he saw Paul's relationship with Christ.
3:35
That he wanted to walk so near to him that he could basically
3:39
get Paul's dirt on him. Live so closely in life with
3:42
Paul that he could see his character in his life.
3:45
See the way that Paul lives, see the way he lived for Jesus and
3:48
emulate. We should have people in our
3:50
life that we follow, not that they are Jesus, but they have
3:54
they've been walking with Jesus longer than we have.
3:56
And we have spiritual mentors that pour into us that we want
3:59
to be near to, that we want to emulate the way they live, the
4:02
way they're a husband, the way they're a wife, the way they're
4:04
a father, the way they're a mother, the way they're a Co
4:06
worker, the way they're a son or daughter.
4:08
We want to see the ways they live.
4:09
We want to be closely involved with them, to be a disciple of
4:13
theirs. And then we should in return
4:16
have people walking closely with us as well That we are disciple
4:20
that we're pouring into while we're becoming more like Christ,
4:23
We have others that we're walking with to help them become
4:26
more like Christ as well. And when we hear the word
4:29
evangelism, why I say this series is both and is because
4:34
evangelism should be the starting point to then
4:38
discipleship. The word evangelism.
4:40
The word discipleship isn't in scriptures per SE as well, but
4:44
the word evangelism isn't either.
4:45
But we get this word from when it the terminology is used.
4:48
We're describing some of the giftings in the body of of a of
4:51
an evangelist to evangelize to preach the gospel, the Greek
4:55
word. I'm going to say it as best I
4:56
can a Waggolonian, A Waggolonian.
4:59
Oh man, you know, I don't know my Greek, but a Waggolonian.
5:03
That is the Greek word for evangelism that we see in
5:06
Scripture and it just means the good news or gospel, the concept
5:10
that is central to the New Testament referring to
5:12
proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ.
5:16
So anyone who's put their faith in Jesus, we now when we tell
5:20
others about the good news of Jesus, we are evangelizing to
5:24
others. We're reaching them with the
5:26
gospel message. But then what flows from that
5:29
evangelizing. Now that we've reached someone
5:32
for the gospel, we get to now disciple them, walk with them in
5:36
life, welcome them into our lives, and then we get to
5:40
hopefully help them become more like Jesus through just doing
5:44
life with one another. And I know these words are
5:47
churchy words that maybe you've heard around the church.
5:49
You've never and you don't know what it means.
5:50
That's why I wanted to just give in a real quick definition of
5:53
discipleship is becoming more like Christ yourself, but then
5:56
walking so near to somebody else that you are having them pour
6:01
into you that you're that you're trying to be more like them and
6:04
their walk with Jesus as well. That you can look up to some
6:06
fathers in the faith, but then you also have some sons in the
6:10
faith as well that you are pouring into that you're doing
6:12
life with as the word. I like to use a lot in ministry,
6:16
doing life with someone else that you get to go grocery
6:19
shopping with them. You get to be in their home and
6:20
see the way they parent or see the way they just react in
6:23
situations that you're so near to them.
6:25
You get their dirt on you. But we should also be out there
6:28
reaching those for Jesus with the gospel message that we are
6:31
evangelizing those who do not know Christ.
6:34
Evangelism just means the spreading of the good news of
6:38
Jesus. That's it.
6:39
Telling people who Jesus is and what he's done.
6:42
But here's the reality, if most people were asked the question,
6:46
if I was to come up to you and ask you the question of what is
6:49
the gospel. And this is something we dove
6:52
into last week's episode. So if you heard last week's
6:55
couple episodes ago, we discussed what is the gospel?
6:58
So I'm gonna just real quick recap here.
7:00
But that's not what this episode is for.
7:02
If you want to hear a longer deep dive into what is the
7:05
gospel message, go watch a few episodes ago.
7:08
But if I came up to you and asked you to give me an answer
7:11
for the question of what is the gospel, a lot of us wouldn't
7:14
really know how to answer that. We might, we might believe it,
7:17
we believe it, we feel it, but putting it into words is
7:20
difficult for us and that's where we struggle.
7:23
So I want to make it simple real quick.
7:25
I'm going to give you a quick overview to do our to our
7:27
episode a few episodes ago. What is the gospel?
7:29
The apostle Paul gives one of the clearest explanations in
7:32
Scripture in First Corinthians 15.
7:34
He says this Christ died for our sins just as the Scripture said.
7:39
He was buried and he was raised from the dead on the third day,
7:42
just as the Scripture said. And he was seen by many
7:46
witnesses. So if someone asks you what is
7:50
the gospel, we're going to kind of steal from Paul's very
7:53
straightforward, clear, get straight to the point answer.
7:58
It is this. Here's your answer.
7:59
Jesus came and he lived a perfect life and died for our
8:03
sins. He was buried, but three days
8:05
later rose from the dead and now he's alive.
8:09
And anyone who puts their faith in him will receive eternal
8:13
life. That's the gospel, that's the
8:16
good news, That's the message that we carry.
8:19
If you are my brother or sister in Christ, if you've put your
8:22
faith in Jesus, that's the message of hope and truth that
8:26
we carry. And now here's here's where it
8:29
connects. If we really believe that, then
8:32
we don't just keep it to ourselves.
8:35
We live it out, we share it, we build our lives around it.
8:39
And that's where discipleship comes in, that we don't just
8:43
hold on to this treasure, that we don't share it with anyone
8:46
else. We are out there evangelizing.
8:49
We are telling others about Christ and then discipleship
8:52
overflows from that place in our lives.
8:55
So let's talk about week 1 of this series and the week 1
8:58
Series of More Like Jesus. The subtitle is Invite because
9:04
at the core of discipleship, you'll always find this real,
9:09
authentic Christ sharing relationships.
9:12
Let me say that again, real, authentic, Christ sharing
9:17
relationships. That is the heartbeat of
9:20
discipleship. When we are inviting someone
9:23
into that in our lives, it is going to be a real relationship,
9:27
an authentic relationship, not a faker facade, but real and
9:31
authentic and Christ sharing relationships.
9:33
Discipleship is not a program, even though many times in the
9:38
church, and I understand why we want to put frameworks in place,
9:42
but discipleship is not a program.
9:44
It's not a class. It's not just a Bible study.
9:47
It's relationships. Discipleship is something
9:51
caught, not taught. It's something you live out.
9:55
It's who you are. It's all of your life.
9:58
Inviting people into that with you to be real and authentic in
10:02
your life with others. Not just the good, not just the
10:06
social media post, not just the photos that have been edited and
10:10
made to look perfect or only the good events that we're showing
10:13
others. But even the raw and real and
10:15
and ones that don't look so pretty.
10:17
That we're welcoming people into the mess of our lives too.
10:21
To welcome them closely into our home.
10:23
To see us mess up, to see us make mistakes, to see us sin, to
10:27
be honest about our sin. And so when we have those real
10:33
and authentic Christ sharing relationships, discipleship
10:37
happens. It overflows.
10:39
It's something caught, not taught.
10:41
Being a disciple is walking so near to the person disciple in
10:45
you that you get their dirt on you, that you are so near in in
10:51
their lives that you are experiencing what they're
10:53
experiencing, that you're being in the real and raw of their
10:56
lives and you are able to just be there to be with one another.
11:00
I'm thankful for the people in my life that I've been able to
11:04
walk so near to, to get their dirt on me, to see the ways they
11:07
live for Jesus, not just in the perfect and beautiful moments,
11:13
but even in the moments of man. I'm struggling right now, man.
11:15
I don't, man I'm, I have this sin in my life that the enemy
11:18
keeps getting a foothold in the real and raw.
11:21
The honesty, the transparency that comes from those
11:24
relationships. I'm so grateful for it 'cause
11:26
it's grew me closer to Jesus in my own walk with Him.
11:31
And if you've chosen to follow Jesus, you now represent Him.
11:35
Scripture says that we are ambassadors for Christ, which
11:38
means everywhere we go, every conversation we have, every
11:43
relationship we're in, we are pointing people to Him.
11:48
But you might be asking, Pastor Lois, how do we actually do
11:51
that? It's by building real
11:53
relationships. Not fake, not surface level, not
11:58
church only or only at church events, or only at Bible Story,
12:02
or only on Sunday morning. This is a Monday through Sunday.
12:06
Relationships that we build not just when things are good or not
12:11
just when we want to speak into somebody's life, but letting
12:13
others also be a part of the process.
12:16
When we're even needing some counsel.
12:19
Showing others that we're human. Leading with a limp, not just
12:23
trying to put on this fake front that we got it all figured out
12:27
cause none of us do. That's why we need Jesus, but
12:31
letting people kind of walk in that with us.
12:34
I think too many times, especially in the church, we
12:37
feel like we have to live up to a certain standard or we put
12:40
ourselves on a pedestal or others do.
12:44
And then we have this pressure to not build real and authentic
12:49
Christ sharing relationships because we're concerned that
12:52
people might see this part of us that isn't really shiny and
12:55
perfect all the time. That some others might see some
12:58
of our flaws. But again, none of us are
13:02
perfect. And Jesus is the perfection we
13:06
strive towards that we run after, but we let others come
13:09
alongside us in that because they're also imperfect.
13:12
But you don't realize the incredible work and growth that
13:18
God does in discipleship relationships, real, authentic,
13:23
everyday relationships where Jesus is naturally a part of
13:27
your life. And here's what you've got to
13:30
understand. Every single one of us has been
13:33
uniquely created, placed in specific environments around
13:38
specific people for a reason. I need you to hear that all of
13:43
us have been born at such a time as this, placed in, placed in
13:49
that job, your school, your friend group, the gym you work
13:53
out at, your daily routines, the family you're in, whatever it
13:57
may be. God has you there for a reason.
14:00
And each of us have specific people that we're called to
14:05
reach. That's not random, that's
14:07
intentional. God is a God of purpose.
14:11
He's not chaotic. He actually puts the chaos into
14:14
order. And so God is also gonna be
14:18
intentional, even with where he's placed us, where he has us,
14:22
we have to be willing to trust Him in that, to seek his will in
14:26
every environment, every situation that we're in.
14:29
God has placed you there to reach people that maybe nobody
14:32
else can reach. Do you believe that there's
14:37
people that you can reach that I cannot?
14:40
And God has you in their life to be his ambassador, to represent
14:43
him to, to, to allow you to be someone that they follow as you
14:48
follow Christ, that you can lead them closer to their Savior,
14:52
that you can point them to their heavenly Father, that you are
14:56
there for a reason and purpose. I promise you God has you there.
15:02
And if you're willing to lean in and be a part of his Great
15:06
Commission, to be a part of what he's doing, to be a part of
15:09
God's mission in this world, he's gonna move and he's gonna
15:12
do things that he's gonna allow you to partner with him in what
15:16
he's doing. But we have to be willing to
15:20
take steps into that as well, to trust that, to believe that.
15:24
I just think a lot of times we hesitate.
15:26
We think things like I'm introverted or I don't know what
15:30
to say, or people won't listen to me.
15:33
Isn't that just for pastors? We think these lies that are
15:37
from the enemy. But listen, you have influence.
15:42
Everybody has influence in their life.
15:44
There is people who are looking up to you, that are watching
15:49
you, that are seeing the steps you take, the things you do.
15:53
You have influence. Every single one of us do.
15:56
Don't ever think you don't because you do, whether you
15:59
realize it or not. And every single day you have
16:02
opportunities to step into conversations about Jesus.
16:06
I call them open door opportunities that there's open
16:10
doors and conversations and situations where the Holy Spirit
16:14
opens this door where you could step through and, and be a, be a
16:19
part of what God wants to do in that certain situation or
16:22
conversation to lead people to him to talk about your faith to
16:26
even even in the times where it might be as simple as saying to
16:29
someone like, Oh yeah, I went to church on Sunday and we're
16:32
learning about this and someone might go, oh, you go to church,
16:35
boom, open door. Hey, oh, your shoulder's
16:40
hurting. Is it OK if I pray for you?
16:44
Someone's standing right next to you and has something that
16:46
they're struggling with and you have this open door to say, can
16:49
I pray for you? Can I pray over that for you,
16:52
man? So many opportunities.
16:54
But again, we are sadly consumed by our selfish wants that maybe
17:00
we're a little too busy. Maybe we got to get somewhere
17:02
else. Maybe we just are in a mood that
17:04
we don't really want to talk to anybody that this sort of thing,
17:07
discipleship, real authentic Christ sharing relationships
17:11
takes work and a lot of us just don't want to do that.
17:15
And I, and I'm saying that to you.
17:17
I've also been there. I have those moments where
17:21
Carlos is selfish, my selfish laziness, that my flesh wants to
17:26
choose, that I don't want to do it, that I don't want to step
17:29
into that because that's going to take work.
17:30
I'm going to have to. I'm going to have to put some
17:32
effort in to step into discipleship relationships.
17:36
But that's who God has called me to be called us to be, to
17:40
evangelize, to reach those reach lost souls with the gospel
17:44
message. But then not even just the lost
17:46
souls to reach them for Christ and then disciple them.
17:49
But even those who are new to the faith, those who you are
17:52
looking around, do you look around on Sunday morning, even
17:54
the church you're connected to and do you see others?
17:56
Are you willing to go out of your comfort zone to go talk to
17:59
someone who maybe isn't really plug in or is new to the faith
18:03
that they're just looking to someone to really do life with,
18:06
to go to lunch with, to ask real and raw and authentic
18:09
conversations and, and questions And you can point them closer to
18:13
Jesus. You can do life with them, but
18:15
it takes work. Discipleship takes work and
18:18
effort and intentionality. And sadly, I think that's why we
18:21
don't walk through the open doors that God opens for us in
18:25
those conversations and situations.
18:27
So the real question is, are we even aware of them?
18:31
Are we even aware of these open door opportunities that God
18:34
gives to us that the Holy Spirit leads us to?
18:36
And are we willing to step into them?
18:38
So asking God, make me aware of the open doors that you give me
18:44
to point people to you. But then also, God, give me a
18:49
spirit of obedience and give me a spirit of faith and trust and
18:55
boldness and kindness and love to actually step into them when
19:00
you present them to me, that I can step into them, confident in
19:05
you, Jesus, that this isn't about what I can do for this
19:09
person, but what you can do through me.
19:12
Because if we're being honest, a lot of us stay comfortable.
19:16
We stay safe, we stay quiet. I, I word it this way, we want
19:21
to live a complacent faith rather than a commissioned
19:25
faith, or we want to live safe rather than scent.
19:30
And my hope is we don't choose the safe route or the quiet
19:34
route. But discipleship requires
19:37
something different of us. It's it's a sacrifice at the
19:41
altar, saying, God, help me be who you call me to be, to step
19:45
into these real and authentic Christ sharing relationships for
19:47
the Kingdom, for you to participate in your Great
19:50
Commission. It requires us to step out, to
19:53
be willing to be uncomfortable, to step into relationships for
19:58
the sake of the gospel. As Paul says to the Jew, I
20:01
became a Jew, to the Greek, I became a Greek all for the sake
20:04
of the gospel. Paul is literally telling us
20:07
that I stepped into relationships, that or or even
20:10
stepped into culture, cultural nuances, not because I wanted
20:15
to, but because it's for the sake of the gospel.
20:20
Reaching people for eternity 'cause that's why we're here.
20:24
To the Jew I'll become a Jew. To the Greek I'll become a
20:26
Greek. To to my brother who wants to go
20:28
play basketball, Go play basketball.
20:30
To the brother who wants to just sit and maybe play video games
20:33
for some time. To the brother who wants to call
20:35
me and talk on the phone for an hour 'cause he just needs
20:38
somebody to talk with. For that brother, I will do it
20:42
for the sake of the gospel. For that Co worker who's really
20:45
just needing me to show up even though I want to go home and
20:50
just relax on my couch and watch Netflix.
20:53
But I know they don't know Jesus.
20:55
And this can be an open door opportunity for me to be
20:58
uncomfortable for the sake of the gospel.
21:02
Because the only way we build real Christ centered
21:05
relationships relationships is if we are real, if we are are
21:10
authentic, if we are unashamed. Scripture says I am not ashamed
21:15
of the gospel. So the question becomes, does
21:19
your life reflect that? Do people see Jesus in the way
21:22
you live and the way you talk and the way you love?
21:27
From the very beginning, God created us for relationships.
21:32
He is a relational God. Before anything was, we had God
21:36
the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit.
21:38
We had. We had they had a relationship.
21:42
They are. He is a relational God and God
21:45
created us for relationships. That's who He is.
21:49
He created us to have a relationship with Him.
21:52
He said it's not good for man to be alone.
21:55
We are relational beings. So for my introverts, for my
21:59
people who are like, Nah, man, I'm so great by myself.
22:03
Listen, that might be OK for sometimes.
22:06
That might be OK to kind of be with just Jesus or just have
22:09
some alone time. That's OK.
22:10
I'm not saying I like to have some of my alone time to unwind,
22:13
to just be, to just be, but to say that that's how you're going
22:18
to live and you're not going to welcome anybody in to have a
22:22
wall up that that's not who God created us to be.
22:26
We are relational beings and not just with each other, but with
22:29
him. And when we're walking in that
22:32
relationship with God, it overflows into how we love
22:36
people. That's why Jesus said the
22:38
greatest commandment is what love God and love people.
22:42
Love up and love out. That's the life of a disciple of
22:48
Christ. So let's make this super
22:52
practical. I don't want this to just be
22:55
something you listen to and move on from that.
22:57
It goes into one ear and out the other.
22:59
I want you to actually live this.
23:02
I want this to fan that flame within you, to stir in your
23:06
heart, to actively live out what it is to be a disciple of Christ
23:11
and to make disciples of Christ. Here's your challenge this week.
23:17
I want you to think of 1. I put 2 fingers up for those
23:20
listening on audio. You didn't see it, so I just put
23:23
myself in a blast. All right?
23:24
I want you to think of one person, just one.
23:30
Someone in your life. Maybe they don't know Jesus.
23:34
Maybe they're far from him. Maybe they're new to the faith.
23:38
Maybe they're just someone you haven't gone deeper with.
23:42
And I want you to do three things #1 pray for them daily.
23:48
As Paul tells us in First Timothy 2 that he urges us to
23:52
pray for all people. So I want you to pray for them
23:56
because the prayers of a righteous person is powerful and
24:00
effective. Do you believe that my brothers
24:02
and sisters, 'cause it's true, pray for them.
24:05
Pray for the Holy Spirit to start moving in their hearts
24:08
already 'cause He will, 'cause He is able.
24:13
Nothing is impossible with God. So pray for them daily #2 look
24:19
for open door opportunities to talk with them.
24:23
When you see and you feel and you witness that open door
24:27
happen in a conversation with them, step into it.
24:31
Even be willing to pray through ways that the Holy Spirit can
24:35
lead you to start open door conversations to be more bold
24:40
with your faith. And bold doesn't mean again,
24:42
guys, that we're just gonna be like, sit down.
24:44
I'm preaching to you this good news.
24:47
Bold in the sense of I'm going to be more unashamed to share
24:52
with what God's doing in my life with my Co worker who I know
24:55
doesn't believe in Jesus. I'm going to just be like, man,
24:57
God's been so good this week, man at Bible study, man at this
25:00
just openly talking about who Jesus is and what he's doing in
25:03
your life. Not that you're even saying it.
25:05
You're just you are. You are presenting them open
25:09
doors to be like, oh, and the Holy Spirit might work through
25:11
them and say, why do you go to Bible study?
25:14
What's Bible study about? What church do you go to?
25:17
These are just gonna be open doors to step into opportunities
25:21
to preach the good news, to share with them what God has
25:24
done in your life, to just share your testimony, to be real and
25:28
authentic in Christ sharing your relationship.
25:30
So #1 pray for them daily #2 look for open door opportunities
25:33
to talk with them and #3 invite them into your life.
25:38
This is the this is the harder part for my for my introverts
25:44
and people who are like, Oh, I don't know, man, this looks like
25:47
it's going to take some effort and, and intentionality.
25:49
It is. We can pray for him, but we can
25:53
look for opportunities while we're at work, while we're doing
25:55
the things we have to do. But no, no, no, that deeper that
25:57
next step to create real and authentic Christian
26:00
relationships is to now invite them into your life.
26:03
That's going to look like inviting them over to your house
26:07
to just hang out with them, to just kick it to to sit around a
26:09
table and eat dinner. That could be coffee.
26:11
That could be lunch. It could be a conversation.
26:14
It's welcoming them. Sorry.
26:16
My word is inviting them. It's inviting them into your
26:20
life to say, hey, I'm going to go to the grocery grocery store
26:24
here soon. Do you want to come with me?
26:26
Hey, I'm just going home just to kick it.
26:28
I was going to make some burgers.
26:29
Let's do this. Hey, do you want to come?
26:31
Hey, my, my small group or hey, my young adult ministry or hey,
26:37
my connect group that I'm a part of at my church, We're going to
26:39
go play pickleball. Do you want to come, you know,
26:41
or hey, you're going to do some with your friends that you like
26:43
to hang out with that we all have our circles, we have our
26:46
holy huddles. We have our close knit, we have
26:49
our, we have our inner circle people, which is a good thing
26:51
that we should have. And sometimes we're like, oh, do
26:54
I want to, but I hope that you're a part of a godly
26:57
community and a godly circle that knows for the Jew, I've
27:01
become a Jew, for the Greek, I've become a Greek all for the
27:03
sake of the gospel that they believe that, that they live
27:05
that that they say, yeah, bro, if your Co worker wants to come,
27:07
it's all good. Even if they're maybe not people
27:10
we'd normally kick it with. Bro, listen, we're, we're
27:13
followers of Jesus. We're called to be a disciple of
27:15
his and we're called to reach those for him and we're called
27:17
to disciple those for him. So invite them into your life,
27:21
whatever you are doing, so they can get your dirt on them.
27:25
Nothing crazy, just intentional. Because discipleship starts with
27:30
an invitation. And listen, don't overcomplicate
27:34
this my brothers and sisters. You're not trying to have all
27:36
the answers. You won't have all the answers.
27:38
None of us do. And you're not trying to be
27:41
perfect, cause none of us are. You're just being available.
27:46
Let God use you. Let him open the doors, let him
27:50
guide the conversations. Your job is to just say yes and
27:56
let God do the rest. We plant the seeds, we water the
28:01
seeds, but God can only grow the seed of faith.
28:04
First Corinthians 3, we plant, we water.
28:07
He grows trust in what he can do.
28:11
You're just saying God. I'm willing.
28:13
I'm saying yes, and I'm gonna step through these open doors
28:17
that you open. Let me pray for y'all so we can
28:20
get up out of here. I'm excited to hear back from
28:23
y'all. Give me shoot me some messages.
28:25
I'm going to be praying for all you guys this week, especially
28:27
to step into, to invite others into your life, to start to
28:31
actively live out discipleship, to evangelize, to reach those
28:36
for Christ, but to even walk with those for Jesus as well.
28:40
I'm excited. Message me, man.
28:42
I'd love to hear some of these stories, some of the things,
28:44
some of the ways God stretches you through this time.
28:47
And I'm going to be stepping into this with you guys as well,
28:50
not just preaching it, but walking it as well.
28:52
So let me pray so we can get up out of here.
28:55
Father, thank you for creating us in your image.
29:00
Thank you for calling us into relationship with you.
29:05
Help us become more like you. Give us boldness to to invite
29:09
people into our lives and ultimately into a relationship
29:13
with you. Use us as your instruments.
29:17
Help us love people well and point them to Jesus and
29:20
everything we do. We are yours.
29:23
Send us wherever you want us to go.
29:26
And we pray all of this in Jesus name, Amen.
29:31
Hey, if this episode spoke to you, share it with someone and
29:34
don't just listen to this series.
29:36
Live it. We'll see y'all next time next
29:40
week for episode 2. Let's keep becoming more like
29:44
Jesus. I love y'all, God bless.