WEBVTT
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Good morning church.
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How are we doing?
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Good to see you guys.
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Glad you're here.
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You already won.
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If you're here this morning, you've already won.
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You you won the better than Ohio State, you won the.
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You uh won the Battle of the Blankets.
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That means you got out of bed and you made it to church.
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Uh we are starting this new series today, and we are excited about it, and we hope that uh in a way that you guys will fully engage everything that we're doing in this series.
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We're gonna be really walking through key pillars to a strong foundation.
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Uh as the video uh so eloquently said, things like salvation, lordship, repentance, baptism, devotion, church, discipleship.
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And um, it's gonna be really a great opportunity for all of us.
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I know when you hear these things, you think, well, I've been following Jesus for a long time, but uh man, uh, we have to consistently uh investigate, evaluate our foundations, and then really ultimately we're looking, am I able to help someone else establish uh those foundations?
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So uh really, you know, whether you're exploring your faith for the first time and you're like, man, I've got a lot of questions.
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Great series for you.
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Some of us have said yes to Jesus, and it's like we were given our new Christian bike, and you get on it and you're like wobbling, and we need someone to walk beside us.
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Uh, that's what this series is all about.
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And other of you guys have been following uh Jesus for years, and it's been a while since you like really examined the key pillars to the foundation of your faith.
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I know when I moved uh here from Tennessee, um we had to sell our house, praise God.
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And that's always an adventure.
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You know, we were living in the house, and the house was fine.
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Uh until you have to have an inspection.
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That little thing called an inspection, and that's where they look in every nook and cranny uh to see, hey, is this house as you say it is?
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And I was like, this is a great house, it's great.
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You need to buy it, pay full price.
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Uh and then during the inspection, they look at the foundation.
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How many know we come in and out of the house and live in a house, but we don't really look at our foundation.
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It's kind of the same in our Christian walk, isn't it?
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It's like, man, we kind of start stacking days and start following things and start growing, and then you're like, hey, uh, that foundation, we laid that was 20 years ago, or for some in this room 50 years ago, or it was five years ago, or whatever, and just like you can move on from it.
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Well, this uh series is gonna serve a little bit like that house inspection where we evaluate the foundation.
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So don't check out on me.
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You know, don't be saying, hey, I've been following Jesus for years.
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Uh I don't need salvation 101.
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It'll be a little different than that for you.
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Um we're gonna ask, is my foundation strong?
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You know, we're gonna examine, is there any cracks in my foundation that I need to address?
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Literally, my foundation, the one corner of my house was was dropping.
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And they were like, hey, you got to fix this.
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And they literally had to dig around the house, go underneath the house, and jack that found that foundation back up where it belonged.
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And so this might be a series where uh in our own lives there's an area or two where we have to sort of jack up the foundation in the life we're building and the way we're following Jesus.
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And so that's what it's all about.
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Um but today the message has got a little bit different focus.
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As we talk about the series, that's going to be one of the found uh focuses or objectives of the series.
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The other one is, you know, the once you establish a foundation and once you start following Jesus, it doesn't stop with you.
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You are then called, as Jesus tells us, to go and make disciples.
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And making disciples is about laying foundations in other people's lives.
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So this in a lot of ways sort of has, you know, two major objectives, like how am I doing, and then how am I doing and helping other people follow Jesus?
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So it is a discipleship series, and that's really where I want to begin today.
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If you have your Bible or you have an app or you want to look on the biggest Bible in the world uh on the screen, I just have two verses for you today.
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2 Timothy is where we'll be.
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2 Timothy is Paul's last letter written from a Roman prison under Nero.
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I mean, it was literally, he wrote it for sure, like just months before he was executed.
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And Paul is writing to Timothy, who is a young pastor who was personally discipled by Paul.
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So Paul modeled discipleship as he is personally involved in the life of Timothy.
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Timothy isn't a beginner anymore.
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Timothy, uh, he's been trained, he's been tested, but even a tested, qualified leader still needs this reminder.
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So this is good for us today.
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Here's the reminder in 2 Timothy 2, verse 1.
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It says, You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
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And what you've heard from me in the presence of many witnesses.
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I mean, like every word matters today.
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And what you've heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
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And this is where we're gonna anchor in for today's message.
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Let me pray for us.
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Father, thank you so much, God, that we get to examine your word freshly today.
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Thank you today, uh, God, that you are gonna be inspecting foundations and you're gonna challenge us not only to be followers of Jesus, but help others follow Jesus.
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So as we do this, Lord, help us as we study in Jesus' name.
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Amen.
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If you look at this scripture, uh, Zeke, if you don't mind putting it back up there for us, what's amazing about this is you will see this incredible movement of the gospel that essentially is like dot, dot, dot, still going today.
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Because Paul clearly lays out what we see here, even in these couple of verses, are four generations of discipleship.
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And this is how the gospel moves, and this is how the gospel expands.
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Do you see the four generations?
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He says, and what you you have heard from me, entrust to faithful men and women, right, who are able, who are able to teach others also.
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Are you tracking with me?
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Four generations, four generations here of discipleship in one sentence.
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So as Paul's own life runs out, the gospel's future doesn't solely rest on the life of Paul.
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And oftentimes we come in and out of church and we develop, and the church helps us, we develop what I call the man of God syndrome, where it isn't really much different than the Catholic Church, where they, you know, oftentimes you you're not even really encouraged to read the Bible for yourself.
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You're called, you know, you're you go to uh you have to have someone between you and God, a mediator, so to speak.
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And we kind of settle in, even in the Christian church, into this model where I'll just hear from the man of God and he'll tell me what to do.
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That's not what we see here.
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Paul's saying, hey, I'm gonna die.
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But the gospel isn't.
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And it isn't because Timothy, you're faithful, and I've entrusted the gospel to you.
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And then I want you to take what's been entrusted to you and pass on to someone else who's able to teach others also.
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Four amazing generations.
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This is Paul's succession plan.
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We call it relational discipleship.
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Because truly, as you see today, this so just for sake of terms, a disciple is someone who follows Jesus.
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Hopefully, today you've made that decision to say, hey, I'm gonna follow Jesus.
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When we are water baptized, you're literally saying, hey, I'm a disciple, I'm gonna follow Jesus the rest of my life.
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If that's not you, if you hadn't made that decision, today is your day.
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If that's not you, you haven't gone public with your faith.
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Hey, today's your day.
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Let us know you want to be baptized.
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That's a public declaration saying, I am a disciple.
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And really, Jesus doesn't call us to be better Christians, he calls us to be disciples, followers of Jesus.
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Then we have this big term uh discipleship.
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What is discipleship?
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It's helping someone else follow Jesus.
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We can't really make it any plainer than that.
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And so Paul's successions plan is relational discipleship.
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He doesn't tell Timothy, hey, write this down and follow, you know, like file it away.
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What is he doing?
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Is he writing this letter, his last letter before he dies?
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What is he saying?
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He's literally saying, go find someone else and tell them the story.
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Go find someone else and entrust this gospel to them.
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It's amazing the trust Paul had.
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He didn't like say, hey, make sure, you know, they've been through cemetery.
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I mean seminary and uh, you know, make sure they're this and make sure they're that.
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He literally says, find a faithful person that'll tell somebody else.
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It's like a cosmic game of tag.
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Where, man, you've been tagged, now who is it in your life that you are tagging?
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See, this is the big idea I want you to stick with today.
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The gospel that saved you was never meant to stop with you.
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That seems simple, but it's profound.
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Let me ask it in a more confrontational way.
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Has the gospel that saved you stopped with you?
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Another question.
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Who have you told the good news to?
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Who have you shared your testimony to?
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Who have you talked to about the cross and what Christ did for you?
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So that's a challenging question for us today.
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And in the scripture, Paul gives us a couple things I'll highlight.
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I picked three because pastors love three.
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One is I love that he starts with receive grace in Christ Jesus.
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What does he say?
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He says, Timothy, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
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Now, Timothy had already been touched by the amazing grace.
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A lot of what we were singing and worshiping and receiving communion today about the grace of God that impacted our life.
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No longer are we the same.
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We've been made new.
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That's the name of the series, right?
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By his grace.
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But Paul now is saying, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
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Notice Paul doesn't say, Timothy, Timothy, strengthen yourself.
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Right?
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Paul says, he doesn't even say, hey, Timothy, go and make disciples.
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He says, be strengthened.
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The literal translation there is, keep being strengthened.
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How many know that's important?
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We need to know that it's not just by our own merit or by our own works that we go to do the things Jesus tells us to do.
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Literally, Paul's telling Timothy, stay anchored in the grace of God.
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Be strengthened by it on an ongoing basis.
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Keep drawing from a grace that doesn't come from you.
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But the grace that is where?
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Where's that grace?
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That grace has an address, doesn't it?
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Grace has an address, doesn't it?
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What's the address?
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Christ.
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It says, look what it says.
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Can we put that scripture back up there?
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Sorry, Zeke.
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It says, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
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I love that.
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And he's what kind of grace is he talking about?
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He's talking about the undeserved help, a free gift from God, something that you earn, something that you can't earn or you don't earn by your own good works.
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It is the grace that is active fuel in our lives.
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Grace doesn't just cover your past, it's basically supplies the strength you need day by day.
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It comes from an external source.
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The streak doesn't come from inside you to do anything for Jesus.
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In fact, what did what did what did John say?
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Apart from Jesus, you can do nothing, right?
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It's an external source.
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That strength doesn't come from inside you, it comes from Christ.
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And that's important, you know why?
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Because we're sinners.
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And disciple making can quickly become just another Christian responsibility.
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Just add it to the list of the things I have to do to call myself a Christian.
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And this idea of being strengthened and continuing to be strengthened by grace keeps us from sort of developing this try harder, do more mentality, right?
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And that's not the gospel.
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The gospel is continue to be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
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The Christian life doesn't begin with what you do for Jesus, it begins for what Jesus has already done for you.
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So when he's saying be strengthened by this grace, it's like just what we did this morning when we held that bread and we held that juice, it's like, let's not have gospel amnesia.
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Let's not forget what Christ has done for us.
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Let the motivating factor be love, that you've been touched by love, and now love motivates you to go do the things we're saying.
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I pause on this because if I just start plowing through the idea of relational discipleship and give you more things to do, then seriously, I'm just heaping more moralism on your life, and I'm not really like we're not, we're not really preaching the gospel.
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The gospel literally says, apart from Christ, we're dead in our sin, but in Christ, remember the address?
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But in Christ, we've been made alive.
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The gospel literally says, apart from Christ, we were guilty, but in Christ, we're forgiven.
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Can we say in Christ?
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Apart from Christ, we were separated from God, but we've been reconciled.
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Come on.
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We love it.
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Participation better than observation this morning.
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Let's get it.
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Apart from Christ, we live for ourselves, but we've been given a new identity, a new family, and a new mission.
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We might need a B3 up here.
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Some of y'all don't know what a B3 is, but uh you need to know what a B3 is.
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Isn't that right, Jamal?
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Come on.
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Come on, somebody.
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You've been made new, and that's where discipleship or disciple making begins.
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You don't uh disciple people because you finally become impressive enough.
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I just gotta say this.
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It's like, I know it's so basic, but sometimes we think in our head, well, one day when I achieve this level, then I might could impart something to someone else.
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You don't disciple because you finally become impressive enough to help somebody else.
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You disciple because you received something you didn't create and can never earn.
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Grace comes to you.
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This is what Paul's telling Timothy, grace comes to you before it can ever flow through you.
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And he's saying, be strengthened by the grace that's in Christ Jesus.
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When you taste God's grace, you can't help but give it away.
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I mean, I am a restaurant evangelist.
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You can talk to me for five minutes, and I'll tell you seven places to eat, even in Midland.
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And you'll be like, I've lived in Midland my whole life, I've never tried those.
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I'm like, yeah, I know.
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Taste and see that the Lord is good.
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Come on, somebody.
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When you understand grace at this level, you can't help but give it away.
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Maybe in some ways we've grown a little numb to it.
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It's like we've developed a cowlous.
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That's what I love about coming together, gathering, I think that's why the the command is to gather together, because when we gather like this on Sunday morning, which is commanded, it's not really optional.
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I am reminded when I hear you sing, and some of y'all can really sing.
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Others of you are more like me, but that's okay.
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When you're singing these words, I'm reminded that I am saved by grace.
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I'm reminded of his amazing grace.
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When we're singing there's power in the blood, I'm reminded of that.
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I'm not going to get that anywhere else, but the gathered, the gathering of the believers.
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And I thank you for making that commitment to do that.
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But sometimes we could grow numb to it, and that's why this helps us, because essentially it's like starts filing off what we could be calloused in our hearts or our motives.
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And that's exactly what Paul's first word to Timothy isn't isn't go disciple somebody.
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What was it?
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It's continue to be strengthened by the same grace that saved you.
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So what keeps discipleship from becoming works of obedience is when it's fueled by grace.
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Amen.
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So this is step one.
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Receive his grace and keep receiving his grace for all of life and ministry.
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Whatever you're doing, we need to abide in divine, constantly feeding on the grace and goodness of God.
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Amen.
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He then says, Entrust what you've received to others.
00:19:33.359 --> 00:19:40.160
Paul continues, What you've heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust a faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:42.559
Notice Paul's language here.
00:19:43.359 --> 00:19:47.680
And we have to kind of kick against this a little bit in modern culture.
00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:51.680
Paul's language is what you have heard from me.
00:19:52.319 --> 00:19:55.119
Do you hear the sort of personal nature?
00:19:55.359 --> 00:20:00.319
Not what you read about me, not what you know about me, but what you have heard from me.
00:20:00.640 --> 00:20:03.680
Paul was in Timothy's life.
00:20:04.799 --> 00:20:06.720
That's significant, isn't it?
00:20:07.599 --> 00:20:09.440
That's significant, isn't it?
00:20:09.839 --> 00:20:11.440
Yes, that's significant.
00:20:11.680 --> 00:20:15.920
Timothy didn't simply consume Paul's content.
00:20:17.759 --> 00:20:20.880
He experienced Paul's life.
00:20:22.720 --> 00:20:28.559
This is why, again, we need we it's why we need even more than this gathering.
00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:31.440
It's why we need more than classes.
00:20:32.559 --> 00:20:37.680
Disciples aren't necessarily made in those uh environments.
00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:41.519
Paul is stressing relational discipleship.
00:20:41.680 --> 00:20:45.599
You're like, Pastor Mike, what do you mean by relational discipleship?
00:20:45.759 --> 00:20:51.359
I mean one-on-one, nose-to-nose, life on life.
00:20:52.319 --> 00:20:56.319
You need to ask yourself, who do I have like this in my life?
00:20:56.480 --> 00:20:58.400
Like, who is my Paul?
00:21:00.799 --> 00:21:05.200
If Paul is only in your earbuds, then you could be in trouble.
00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:17.200
And then likewise, because this we have two objectives, you might need to ask not only who is my Paul, but then who is my Timothy?
00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:21.519
God's challenging all of us this morning.
00:21:21.680 --> 00:21:31.200
We live in a world where we can be more spiritually informed than any generation in history and still be personally unknown.
00:21:33.599 --> 00:21:37.200
Many times we try to outsource discipleship.
00:21:37.440 --> 00:21:38.480
You know what it is.
00:21:38.559 --> 00:21:46.240
Like maybe you work in a company and you need some marketing and arts, and you don't have your own marketing department, so you outsource it.
00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:49.200
You go outside of yourself to get that thing done.
00:21:49.359 --> 00:21:52.240
That's the way we relate in discipleship often.
00:21:52.559 --> 00:22:03.759
We outsource it to some other source and we're and to other platforms and personalities and You know, podcasts and apps and sermons.
00:22:03.920 --> 00:22:13.440
And while all of those are a gift, we can have dozens of voices, again, in our in our earbuds who don't even know our name.
00:22:15.200 --> 00:22:18.480
Paul and Timothy are intimately connected.
00:22:18.720 --> 00:22:20.000
They're in relationships.
00:22:20.079 --> 00:22:29.279
So when we're talking about discipleship, we're talking about relational, one-on-one, nose-to-nose life on life.
00:22:29.599 --> 00:22:32.480
I want you to remember this.
00:22:34.480 --> 00:22:43.200
You can attend church anonymously, but you can't be discipled anonymously.
00:22:44.240 --> 00:22:45.759
Yeah, I'll say that again, Will.
00:22:45.839 --> 00:22:46.960
Thank you, Pastor Will.
00:22:48.079 --> 00:22:51.519
You can attend church anonymously.
00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:53.839
Some are easier than others.
00:22:54.160 --> 00:22:57.680
This isn't the easiest place to be anonymous.
00:22:57.920 --> 00:22:59.599
We will find you out.
00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:01.279
Why?
00:23:01.519 --> 00:23:04.559
Because we want you to grow to everything God called you to be.
00:23:04.720 --> 00:23:11.039
But you can attend church anonymously, but you can't be discipled anonymously.
00:23:11.279 --> 00:23:13.279
Somebody has to know you.
00:23:13.440 --> 00:23:17.279
Paul is saying discipleship happens in relationship.
00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:23.279
Someone helps you follow Jesus, and then eventually you become that person for someone else.
00:23:23.599 --> 00:23:24.960
This is how it works.
00:23:25.200 --> 00:23:26.480
Paul's in prison.
00:23:26.720 --> 00:23:28.000
He's about to die.
00:23:28.319 --> 00:23:30.400
The gospel could die with him.
00:23:30.720 --> 00:23:36.079
His only play, plan A, is relational discipleship.
00:23:38.960 --> 00:23:41.440
That's powerful to think about, isn't it?
00:23:42.480 --> 00:23:43.759
I'll let that lay there.
00:23:43.839 --> 00:23:45.119
You don't have to answer me.
00:23:47.359 --> 00:23:48.319
Come on.
00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:57.279
Paul also gives us, he identifies who we should disciple.
00:23:57.440 --> 00:23:59.519
He says, and trust the faithful men and women.
00:23:59.599 --> 00:24:01.519
I just want to make a note here sometimes.
00:24:01.680 --> 00:24:04.960
We can get discouraged by chasing the wrong people.
00:24:05.359 --> 00:24:13.599
Now, everyone matters to God, but if they're not hungry and if they're just running, at some point you just got to become an oasis.
00:24:13.839 --> 00:24:15.200
You know what I mean by that?
00:24:15.440 --> 00:24:19.279
You need to be the person they know, like, has the goods.
00:24:20.079 --> 00:24:24.559
And when they get thirsty, they'll come to you and get a drink.
00:24:24.720 --> 00:24:34.240
But sometimes we get discouraged because we're chasing knuckleheads when there's actually faithful men and women all around us who are hungry.
00:24:34.559 --> 00:24:38.400
So he says here, and trust of faithful men and women.
00:24:38.640 --> 00:24:43.359
Here's the truth faithful people pursue you and are hungry to grow.
00:24:44.559 --> 00:24:48.400
Paul also gives us the only thing needed to make disciples.
00:24:48.559 --> 00:24:51.599
It isn't talent or credentials, not perfect people.
00:24:51.839 --> 00:24:54.799
His only requirement is faithful people.
00:24:56.079 --> 00:24:56.640
Why?
00:24:56.960 --> 00:25:01.200
Because the gospel that saved you was never meant to stop with you.
00:25:01.440 --> 00:25:03.920
And faithful people understand that.
00:25:04.079 --> 00:25:09.119
A, they receive the gospel and they receive it and they give it away.
00:25:09.359 --> 00:25:11.440
That's what faithful people do.
00:25:12.559 --> 00:25:16.079
Oftentimes we overthink this, we overcomplicate it.
00:25:16.319 --> 00:25:20.559
We think to ourselves, God is not ready to use me yet.
00:25:20.720 --> 00:25:24.319
While God says, I'm ready to use you now.
00:25:25.279 --> 00:25:30.640
Whatever part you have, whatever you know, I mean, you may not know a whole lot.
00:25:30.799 --> 00:25:37.039
I mean, if you've read one page of the Bible, you've read more than probably somebody at your work.
00:25:39.519 --> 00:25:45.359
So you see the qualifications, he simplifies it down to this idea of faithfulness.
00:25:45.920 --> 00:25:47.839
Paul's saying the same thing here.
00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:51.440
He's saying, not asking Timothy to find something with it all figured out.
00:25:51.680 --> 00:25:53.519
He's asking for faithfulness.
00:25:53.680 --> 00:25:59.519
At Neely, we've kind of tried to unpack the word faithful into this acronym we called faith.
00:25:59.680 --> 00:26:07.119
And this is who we want to disciple, this is who we want to make disciples, this is who we're going to train as leaders, this is the qualification.
00:26:07.359 --> 00:26:08.000
Faithfulness.
00:26:08.079 --> 00:26:16.319
We call it faith, which is simply faithful, available, involved, teachable, and hungry.
00:26:17.759 --> 00:26:18.799
Think about that.
00:26:18.880 --> 00:26:23.759
Those are all attitudes we can control, desires of our heart.
00:26:23.920 --> 00:26:36.240
This isn't about how much you know, how many books you read, what classes you've gone to, this is about a disposition of the heart.
00:26:37.200 --> 00:26:39.359
So here's what I want to do today.
00:26:39.519 --> 00:26:41.599
I need to ask, am I a man of faith?
00:26:41.839 --> 00:26:43.519
Am I a woman of faith?
00:26:45.680 --> 00:26:49.599
And who do I look for to pour my life to entrust the gospel to?
00:26:49.839 --> 00:26:51.440
I look for people with faith.
00:26:52.079 --> 00:26:54.160
Literally, that's all we're saying.
00:26:54.319 --> 00:26:56.720
Who should you invest in and help follow Jesus?
00:26:56.960 --> 00:26:58.240
People with faith.
00:26:59.519 --> 00:27:02.079
And who should make disciples?
00:27:02.880 --> 00:27:04.319
People with faith.
00:27:06.240 --> 00:27:07.759
Are you tracking with me?
00:27:08.480 --> 00:27:10.960
You don't have to be a pastor to disciple somebody.
00:27:11.039 --> 00:27:13.200
You don't need a seminary degree.
00:27:13.279 --> 00:27:14.880
You don't have to know everything.
00:27:15.839 --> 00:27:21.119
You simply need to be willing to take what Jesus is teaching you and walk it out with someone else.
00:27:21.359 --> 00:27:26.000
Because discipleship isn't follow me, I've arrived.
00:27:28.319 --> 00:27:31.359
It's come with me, let's follow Jesus together.
00:27:33.279 --> 00:27:36.720
The third thing is multiplication is the mission.
00:27:37.279 --> 00:27:39.839
Paul doesn't stop with Timothy and faithful people.
00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:44.079
He says these faithful people will be able to teach others also.
00:27:44.160 --> 00:27:45.759
Remember the four generations.
00:27:46.000 --> 00:27:47.119
It's multiplication.
00:27:47.359 --> 00:27:51.519
Paul to Timothy, Timothy to faithful people, faithful people to others.
00:27:51.759 --> 00:27:53.359
The gospel keeps moving.
00:27:53.519 --> 00:27:56.319
That's what Jesus commanded us in Matthew 28.
00:27:56.480 --> 00:28:00.480
Thinking about Paul's last words, what about Jesus' last words?
00:28:00.880 --> 00:28:03.359
How many know last words are important?
00:28:03.839 --> 00:28:05.920
What was Jesus' last words?
00:28:06.240 --> 00:28:09.039
You go therefore and make disciples.
00:28:09.519 --> 00:28:13.599
He literally said the same thing that Paul is saying to Timothy.
00:28:14.559 --> 00:28:16.160
There is no plan B.
00:28:16.319 --> 00:28:23.359
He didn't say, you know, uh, go and attend church, although attending church is good.
00:28:24.640 --> 00:28:29.039
He didn't say go and sing songs, although singing songs is good.
00:28:29.440 --> 00:28:32.079
He said, go and make disciples.
00:28:32.720 --> 00:28:34.880
This is the Great Commission.
00:28:35.680 --> 00:28:39.839
Or as some scholars call it, the great omission.
00:28:41.839 --> 00:28:44.160
I guess I'll just let that go right over your head.
00:28:44.319 --> 00:28:47.359
I didn't get an ooh or an ah or oh my or nothing.
00:28:47.599 --> 00:28:51.920
Meaning the church is omitting the one thing that Jesus told us to do.
00:28:54.160 --> 00:29:00.079
Jesus didn't simply call us to make converts, he called us to make disciples.
00:29:02.079 --> 00:29:05.920
People who learn to follow Jesus, people who learn to obey Jesus.
00:29:06.240 --> 00:29:10.480
And what I love is that you don't have to personally manage the four generations.
00:29:11.279 --> 00:29:12.720
You just have to be faithful.
00:29:12.960 --> 00:29:14.640
You're part of the link.
00:29:16.240 --> 00:29:17.680
Are you tracking with me?
00:29:18.000 --> 00:29:22.319
Like if it's Paul, Timothy, faithful, others, I don't have to manage all that.
00:29:22.720 --> 00:29:26.559
I just need to be faithful with where I'm at and what God's called me to do.
00:29:28.160 --> 00:29:31.519
Someone invested you, now invest in somebody else.
00:29:31.839 --> 00:29:34.079
So that's why I want to challenge some of us today.
00:29:34.240 --> 00:29:38.880
Maybe you've been following Jesus for years, but you've never intentionally discipled another person.
00:29:39.200 --> 00:29:40.400
This is your moment.
00:29:40.960 --> 00:29:46.000
Maybe you want to do what Jesus commanded, but you've never, you know, never made a disciple.
00:29:46.160 --> 00:29:47.279
This is your moment.
00:29:47.519 --> 00:29:52.079
Maybe you want to grow spiritually, but you've never invited someone to grow with you.
00:29:52.319 --> 00:29:53.519
This is your moment.
00:29:54.480 --> 00:29:59.359
Maybe you thought discipleship is something that pastors do.
00:29:59.599 --> 00:30:00.880
This is your moment.
00:30:01.200 --> 00:30:09.839
And so as I begin to wrap this up, Paul wasn't just confronting Timothy in this letter, facing execution.
00:30:10.079 --> 00:30:13.200
He was making sure the gospel didn't die with him.
00:30:14.799 --> 00:30:18.480
Paul doesn't tell Timothy to keep it going, he models it.
00:30:18.640 --> 00:30:24.799
In fact, the whole letter is Paul literally entrusting the gospel to Timothy.
00:30:25.039 --> 00:30:36.000
And again, that's why we're walking through this series to settle these foundations and to activate relational discipleship in your life.
00:30:36.240 --> 00:30:53.119
We're going to revisit these foundations together because you're not, you know, not because you're a beginner, maybe you are, and this is your first time, but because what I said in the beginning, even strong foundations need to be examined.
00:30:54.000 --> 00:30:56.160
My house did, that's for sure.
00:30:56.400 --> 00:30:57.839
And it was costly.
00:30:59.119 --> 00:31:00.720
We're also going to do something else.
00:31:00.799 --> 00:31:07.680
We're going to learn how to take those foundations and help you build them in someone else.
00:31:07.920 --> 00:31:10.079
I want to introduce a tool to you.
00:31:10.160 --> 00:31:11.599
You've probably seen it around.
00:31:11.759 --> 00:31:14.240
We call this the one-to-one.
00:31:14.720 --> 00:31:18.799
And it literally says a personal discipleship guide.
00:31:19.119 --> 00:31:23.599
Meaning, not personal as in this is your personal discipleship guide.
00:31:23.680 --> 00:31:24.799
Go home and read it.
00:31:25.039 --> 00:31:31.440
No, this is what you can use to do effectively do what we're telling you to do today.
00:31:31.599 --> 00:31:35.440
What we're encouraging you to do, what we're reminding you that the Bible told you to do.
00:31:35.680 --> 00:31:37.920
This is just a systematic way.
00:31:39.119 --> 00:31:40.319
I wrote it like this.
00:31:40.559 --> 00:31:44.079
I wrote it, this is a low-tech answer to a high-tech problem.
00:31:45.920 --> 00:31:47.440
And it's an awesome tool.
00:31:47.519 --> 00:31:52.799
And literally all you have to do is read it to someone as far as using the tool.
00:31:53.039 --> 00:31:55.599
It's simple, it's relational, it's reproducible.
00:31:55.680 --> 00:31:57.359
There's seven lessons in there.
00:31:57.599 --> 00:32:03.920
Also, not only do we have these books, which we will give you on the way out today, these little booklets, there is an app.
00:32:04.079 --> 00:32:06.880
So if you prefer the digital way, there's a one-to-one app.
00:32:06.960 --> 00:32:08.079
Don't download it right now.
00:32:08.240 --> 00:32:09.839
I'm almost finished.
00:32:11.920 --> 00:32:15.599
But one, the one-to-one isn't the disciple maker.
00:32:16.319 --> 00:32:17.519
It's a tool.
00:32:17.759 --> 00:32:19.440
You're the disciple maker.
00:32:20.079 --> 00:32:29.920
The tool doesn't replace relationship, it gives you a pathway for having the right conversations, opening the scriptures, and helping to lay foundations in someone's life.
00:32:30.079 --> 00:32:31.119
Does that make sense?
00:32:31.359 --> 00:32:34.160
So maybe you're asking, how do I start?
00:32:34.319 --> 00:32:37.039
I just want to give you a couple ways how you could start.
00:32:37.279 --> 00:32:38.559
Say, you know what?
00:32:39.039 --> 00:32:42.079
This is the moment I'm going to make a disciple.
00:32:42.319 --> 00:32:46.799
Here's how you start: you pray and ask God, who's my one?
00:32:48.160 --> 00:32:50.079
I mean, that's not too much.
00:32:50.559 --> 00:32:53.920
Don't begin by asking who needs to be fixed.
00:32:54.079 --> 00:32:58.160
They're probably in your house and they probably think the same thing about you.
00:32:59.119 --> 00:33:01.759
Ask, who am I being called to love?
00:33:02.079 --> 00:33:06.160
Maybe it's a coworker, a neighbor, a friend, someone in your life group.
00:33:06.400 --> 00:33:07.519
Ding, ding, ding.
00:33:07.599 --> 00:33:13.039
There's a chance you're in a group with someone who needs someone to walk with them individually.
00:33:13.200 --> 00:33:16.559
It's a great fishing pool, fishing pond.
00:33:17.440 --> 00:33:21.680
Someone who's been following Jesus for years but has never been really discipled.
00:33:21.759 --> 00:33:22.960
They're a candidate.
00:33:23.200 --> 00:33:26.319
And then pray and ask, and the next thing is invest.
00:33:27.200 --> 00:33:28.720
Be a good friend.
00:33:29.039 --> 00:33:30.880
This isn't just about a program.
00:33:31.039 --> 00:33:32.559
I'm not just giving you stars.
00:33:32.640 --> 00:33:35.680
It's not like we're tracking your discipleship in this.
00:33:35.920 --> 00:33:36.240
Right?
00:33:36.400 --> 00:33:41.839
And you just, every disciple you make who goes and makes another disciple, we give you a gold star.
00:33:43.359 --> 00:33:46.319
Although the Bible does talk about jewels in your crown.
00:33:46.400 --> 00:33:48.880
I don't know about that, but that sounds pretty good.
00:33:49.519 --> 00:33:52.880
So before you try to be a disciple, or just be a good friend.
00:33:53.039 --> 00:33:56.880
Grab coffee, listen to their story, ask questions, walk with them.
00:33:57.039 --> 00:33:59.680
It's just a relationship you already have.
00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:01.519
Invite them at the right time.
00:34:01.599 --> 00:34:02.400
Just make it simple.
00:34:02.559 --> 00:34:06.480
Say, hey, I've been wanting to grow deeper in my faith, and I'd love to do this with you.
00:34:06.720 --> 00:34:08.800
Would you like to meet with me for a few weeks?
00:34:08.960 --> 00:34:13.199
I got a simple guide we can walk through together.
00:34:14.800 --> 00:34:17.119
You don't have to say, I got all the answers.
00:34:17.360 --> 00:34:20.559
You just get to say, hey, let's follow Jesus together.
00:34:20.960 --> 00:34:22.639
Pretty easy so far, right?
00:34:22.800 --> 00:34:24.000
And then walk with them.
00:34:24.159 --> 00:34:27.519
Use the one-to-one, but don't just complete the lessons.
00:34:27.760 --> 00:34:35.360
Like this is again a guide, steps to take, but it's not like we're checking off boxes and we're mechanical.
00:34:36.159 --> 00:34:37.440
We're relational.
00:34:38.079 --> 00:34:40.000
And so we walk with them.
00:34:40.239 --> 00:34:41.519
We do life together.
00:34:41.760 --> 00:34:43.840
When they have questions, walk with them.
00:34:44.000 --> 00:34:45.519
When they struggle, walk with them.
00:34:45.679 --> 00:34:47.599
Well, what if they ask me something I don't know?
00:34:47.760 --> 00:34:49.840
Here's the golden great answer.
00:34:50.159 --> 00:34:51.360
I don't know.
00:34:52.719 --> 00:34:55.440
What if they ask me something I don't know the answer to?
00:34:55.599 --> 00:34:56.880
Here's the answer.
00:34:57.119 --> 00:34:58.079
I don't know.
00:34:58.320 --> 00:34:59.920
But let's find it together.
00:35:00.159 --> 00:35:02.159
Let's go talk to someone who may.
00:35:02.719 --> 00:35:03.519
Are you with me?
00:35:03.679 --> 00:35:05.440
Are you tracking with me on it?
00:35:05.840 --> 00:35:07.039
And then multiply.
00:35:07.119 --> 00:35:08.480
Don't stop with your one.
00:35:08.639 --> 00:35:10.239
Paul invested in Timothy.
00:35:11.440 --> 00:35:15.840
Timothy invested in faithful people, and then those people invested in others.
00:35:16.079 --> 00:35:17.840
That's the picture we're after.
00:35:18.000 --> 00:35:25.599
Not I discipled someone, but I helped somebody become a disciple who can help someone else follow Jesus.
00:35:25.840 --> 00:35:36.320
And so what I love about this tool is that obviously it's the Holy Spirit that does the transformation, but this is systematic in a way where anyone can do it.
00:35:36.960 --> 00:35:43.599
Meaning, I have a new believer who I walk through in the last eight weeks, I walk through the one-to-one with them.
00:35:43.840 --> 00:35:48.320
They're already able to walk this through with someone else.
00:35:48.800 --> 00:35:53.199
Will they do it as good as me, the professional?
00:35:54.400 --> 00:35:57.039
Probably, but maybe not.
00:36:00.239 --> 00:36:01.760
But they'll do it.
00:36:02.320 --> 00:36:03.519
That's the point.
00:36:03.760 --> 00:36:07.119
To give them something simple that they can do.
00:36:07.440 --> 00:36:09.760
And that's what we're offering to you today.
00:36:09.840 --> 00:36:16.800
So when we're talking about pray, invest, invite, walk, multiply, that's a made-new church.
00:36:16.960 --> 00:36:18.800
This is the made new series.
00:36:18.960 --> 00:36:20.880
And this is what we're talking about.
00:36:21.119 --> 00:36:24.800
Before we conclude, I really want to go back to just one last thing.
00:36:24.960 --> 00:36:28.159
That very first scripture I haven't been able to get off of.
00:36:28.400 --> 00:36:37.679
Because all of them, again, like you could listen to this and you start to think in your mind, who's your one and all that stuff, and do the one-to-one and make these steps and almost fall off the stage.
00:36:37.840 --> 00:36:40.239
Should open my eyes before I get that close.
00:36:43.039 --> 00:36:47.519
It's the grace of God that keeps you from stumbling.
00:36:47.840 --> 00:36:49.039
Be strengthened.
00:36:49.360 --> 00:36:55.119
Be continually strengthened in the grace that is found in Christ.
00:36:55.280 --> 00:36:58.320
You can't do this from your own power.
00:36:58.559 --> 00:37:04.480
Grace doesn't just save you, grace strengthens us to give away what we've received.
00:37:04.960 --> 00:37:06.000
Remember that.
00:37:06.239 --> 00:37:08.480
The gospel didn't start with you, right?
00:37:09.679 --> 00:37:12.960
It started on a cross on a hill in Galgotha.
00:37:14.639 --> 00:37:18.719
And the gospel that saved you was never meant to stop with you.
00:37:19.039 --> 00:37:22.800
It didn't start with you and it doesn't stop with you.
00:37:23.199 --> 00:37:25.119
So you've been made new.
00:37:25.519 --> 00:37:31.119
Now go help somebody else discover what it means to be made new in Christ.
00:37:32.480 --> 00:37:42.400
Let's be a church where we have decided I'm going to be a disciple.
00:37:43.599 --> 00:37:46.239
And I'm going to be a disciple that makes disciples.
00:37:46.480 --> 00:37:48.079
That's what this whole series is about.
00:37:48.239 --> 00:37:49.360
It's going to be powerful.
00:37:49.760 --> 00:37:56.639
Next week we're going to we're just going to kind of flow through these topically, but obviously preach them a little differently.
00:37:57.119 --> 00:38:03.920
The cool thing about this, I forgot to say this, is that we actually, the kids are doing this.
00:38:05.199 --> 00:38:07.679
We're using this for groups curriculum.
00:38:08.000 --> 00:38:10.480
It's like permeating every area of the church.
00:38:10.559 --> 00:38:15.519
So like honestly, when you go home, if you have kids, there's a kid version of the one-to-one.
00:38:16.400 --> 00:38:22.880
So we can start right in right around the kitchen table, walking our kids through this.
00:38:23.119 --> 00:38:24.000
And you know what?
00:38:24.159 --> 00:38:28.800
It is literally so simple that your kids can make disciples.
00:38:29.039 --> 00:38:31.840
If they can read, they can make disciples.
00:38:32.960 --> 00:38:34.079
We can do it, church.
00:38:34.239 --> 00:38:34.719
Amen.
00:38:35.119 --> 00:38:36.000
We stand your feet.
00:38:36.079 --> 00:38:36.880
I'll pray for you.
00:38:37.199 --> 00:38:39.679
If you're part of the ministry team, you can come down.
00:38:41.119 --> 00:38:44.159
On the way out, on the way in, I love this.
00:38:44.239 --> 00:38:45.440
This is a beautiful picture.
00:38:45.679 --> 00:38:47.519
On the way in, you were given communion.
00:38:47.679 --> 00:38:50.800
On the way out, you're given a tool to go and make disciples.
00:38:51.199 --> 00:38:52.800
That sounds great.
00:38:55.039 --> 00:38:56.800
You were given the communion elements.
00:38:56.880 --> 00:38:59.119
We didn't express give you communion on the way in.
00:38:59.280 --> 00:39:00.880
You were given the elements.
00:39:02.719 --> 00:39:04.400
You're a beautiful people.
00:39:05.199 --> 00:39:09.679
God has called us to gather together to change our city.
00:39:10.239 --> 00:39:20.159
According to Paul, the only way we're going to change it is to be anchored in this grace and to entrust this gospel with faithful people to teach others also.
00:39:20.719 --> 00:39:21.360
Amen.
00:39:21.920 --> 00:39:24.320
Father, we thank you for this awesome day.
00:39:24.639 --> 00:39:26.480
God bless my friends today.
00:39:26.719 --> 00:39:30.480
God, I pray if anyone has a heavy heart today, they don't leave here heavy.
00:39:30.800 --> 00:39:33.760
God, but they walk down front and we stand with them and pray.
00:39:34.079 --> 00:39:37.760
God, we're a family and we stand in the gap for one another.
00:39:38.079 --> 00:39:42.639
God, if anyone's sick here today, God, I pray you touch them, heal them.
00:39:42.960 --> 00:39:48.800
God, I pray that if they need someone to uh anoint them with oil and pray for them, they'll make their way down front.
00:39:48.960 --> 00:39:54.800
If there's someone here today that realized, you know what, I can't go and make a disciple because I'm not a disciple.
00:39:55.039 --> 00:40:01.599
And they want to give their life to Christ, they would make their way down front and say, I'm ready to give my life to Christ.
00:40:01.920 --> 00:40:03.280
Jesus, we love you.
00:40:03.519 --> 00:40:05.519
We thank you that you're so good to us.
00:40:05.760 --> 00:40:06.639
Bless us today.
00:40:06.719 --> 00:40:07.840
Give us a great week.
00:40:07.920 --> 00:40:16.159
And let this, as we go, let this one-to-one God not just collect dust on our truck dash.
00:40:16.400 --> 00:40:22.800
But God, let us become a tool we implement day in and day out with the people we walk with and we love.
00:40:23.039 --> 00:40:25.760
Help us to be a church made new.
00:40:26.000 --> 00:40:29.119
Disciples that make disciples that make disciples.
00:40:29.280 --> 00:40:30.239
We love you, Lord.
00:40:30.400 --> 00:40:31.679
Bless our friends today.
00:40:31.760 --> 00:40:33.199
In Jesus' name, amen.
00:40:33.360 --> 00:40:34.239
You're dismissed.
00:40:34.320 --> 00:40:35.679
God bless you guys.
00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:01.120
Good morning church.
00:00:01.199 --> 00:00:02.319
How are we doing?
00:00:02.879 --> 00:00:04.080
Good to see you guys.
00:00:04.320 --> 00:00:05.440
Glad you're here.
00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:06.879
You already won.
00:00:07.040 --> 00:00:09.119
If you're here this morning, you've already won.
00:00:09.199 --> 00:00:13.839
You you won the better than Ohio State, you won the.
00:00:17.039 --> 00:00:19.519
You uh won the Battle of the Blankets.
00:00:19.679 --> 00:00:22.480
That means you got out of bed and you made it to church.
00:00:22.719 --> 00:00:33.600
Uh we are starting this new series today, and we are excited about it, and we hope that uh in a way that you guys will fully engage everything that we're doing in this series.
00:00:33.759 --> 00:00:38.079
We're gonna be really walking through key pillars to a strong foundation.
00:00:38.320 --> 00:00:46.880
Uh as the video uh so eloquently said, things like salvation, lordship, repentance, baptism, devotion, church, discipleship.
00:00:47.119 --> 00:00:51.359
And um, it's gonna be really a great opportunity for all of us.
00:00:51.600 --> 00:01:12.640
I know when you hear these things, you think, well, I've been following Jesus for a long time, but uh man, uh, we have to consistently uh investigate, evaluate our foundations, and then really ultimately we're looking, am I able to help someone else establish uh those foundations?
00:01:12.879 --> 00:01:20.239
So uh really, you know, whether you're exploring your faith for the first time and you're like, man, I've got a lot of questions.
00:01:20.480 --> 00:01:21.760
Great series for you.
00:01:21.920 --> 00:01:34.079
Some of us have said yes to Jesus, and it's like we were given our new Christian bike, and you get on it and you're like wobbling, and we need someone to walk beside us.
00:01:34.159 --> 00:01:36.560
Uh, that's what this series is all about.
00:01:36.799 --> 00:01:46.560
And other of you guys have been following uh Jesus for years, and it's been a while since you like really examined the key pillars to the foundation of your faith.
00:01:46.719 --> 00:01:53.120
I know when I moved uh here from Tennessee, um we had to sell our house, praise God.
00:01:53.280 --> 00:01:54.879
And that's always an adventure.
00:01:55.040 --> 00:01:58.239
You know, we were living in the house, and the house was fine.
00:01:58.799 --> 00:02:01.439
Uh until you have to have an inspection.
00:02:02.799 --> 00:02:11.759
That little thing called an inspection, and that's where they look in every nook and cranny uh to see, hey, is this house as you say it is?
00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:14.159
And I was like, this is a great house, it's great.
00:02:14.240 --> 00:02:16.479
You need to buy it, pay full price.
00:02:16.639 --> 00:02:21.280
Uh and then during the inspection, they look at the foundation.
00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:28.800
How many know we come in and out of the house and live in a house, but we don't really look at our foundation.
00:02:28.879 --> 00:02:31.360
It's kind of the same in our Christian walk, isn't it?
00:02:31.599 --> 00:02:49.039
It's like, man, we kind of start stacking days and start following things and start growing, and then you're like, hey, uh, that foundation, we laid that was 20 years ago, or for some in this room 50 years ago, or it was five years ago, or whatever, and just like you can move on from it.
00:02:49.199 --> 00:02:56.319
Well, this uh series is gonna serve a little bit like that house inspection where we evaluate the foundation.
00:02:56.400 --> 00:02:57.840
So don't check out on me.
00:02:57.919 --> 00:03:01.360
You know, don't be saying, hey, I've been following Jesus for years.
00:03:01.439 --> 00:03:03.680
Uh I don't need salvation 101.
00:03:03.759 --> 00:03:06.240
It'll be a little different than that for you.
00:03:06.479 --> 00:03:10.080
Um we're gonna ask, is my foundation strong?
00:03:10.319 --> 00:03:15.599
You know, we're gonna examine, is there any cracks in my foundation that I need to address?
00:03:15.759 --> 00:03:22.560
Literally, my foundation, the one corner of my house was was dropping.
00:03:22.879 --> 00:03:24.960
And they were like, hey, you got to fix this.
00:03:25.039 --> 00:03:33.520
And they literally had to dig around the house, go underneath the house, and jack that found that foundation back up where it belonged.
00:03:33.759 --> 00:03:45.039
And so this might be a series where uh in our own lives there's an area or two where we have to sort of jack up the foundation in the life we're building and the way we're following Jesus.
00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:47.199
And so that's what it's all about.
00:03:47.439 --> 00:03:53.039
Um but today the message has got a little bit different focus.
00:03:53.280 --> 00:03:58.879
As we talk about the series, that's going to be one of the found uh focuses or objectives of the series.
00:03:59.039 --> 00:04:07.280
The other one is, you know, the once you establish a foundation and once you start following Jesus, it doesn't stop with you.
00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:12.800
You are then called, as Jesus tells us, to go and make disciples.
00:04:13.120 --> 00:04:17.920
And making disciples is about laying foundations in other people's lives.
00:04:18.160 --> 00:04:29.120
So this in a lot of ways sort of has, you know, two major objectives, like how am I doing, and then how am I doing and helping other people follow Jesus?
00:04:29.439 --> 00:04:33.279
So it is a discipleship series, and that's really where I want to begin today.
00:04:33.519 --> 00:04:42.160
If you have your Bible or you have an app or you want to look on the biggest Bible in the world uh on the screen, I just have two verses for you today.
00:04:42.319 --> 00:04:44.959
2 Timothy is where we'll be.
00:04:45.759 --> 00:04:53.839
2 Timothy is Paul's last letter written from a Roman prison under Nero.
00:04:54.399 --> 00:05:03.759
I mean, it was literally, he wrote it for sure, like just months before he was executed.
00:05:04.319 --> 00:05:14.160
And Paul is writing to Timothy, who is a young pastor who was personally discipled by Paul.
00:05:14.560 --> 00:05:21.680
So Paul modeled discipleship as he is personally involved in the life of Timothy.
00:05:21.920 --> 00:05:24.480
Timothy isn't a beginner anymore.
00:05:24.959 --> 00:05:34.800
Timothy, uh, he's been trained, he's been tested, but even a tested, qualified leader still needs this reminder.
00:05:35.199 --> 00:05:36.639
So this is good for us today.
00:05:36.720 --> 00:05:40.399
Here's the reminder in 2 Timothy 2, verse 1.
00:05:40.560 --> 00:05:49.439
It says, You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
00:05:50.639 --> 00:05:55.759
And what you've heard from me in the presence of many witnesses.
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I mean, like every word matters today.
00:05:58.720 --> 00:06:06.879
And what you've heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:11.839
And this is where we're gonna anchor in for today's message.
00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:12.959
Let me pray for us.
00:06:13.120 --> 00:06:18.480
Father, thank you so much, God, that we get to examine your word freshly today.
00:06:18.720 --> 00:06:29.839
Thank you today, uh, God, that you are gonna be inspecting foundations and you're gonna challenge us not only to be followers of Jesus, but help others follow Jesus.
00:06:30.079 --> 00:06:34.480
So as we do this, Lord, help us as we study in Jesus' name.
00:06:34.800 --> 00:06:35.439
Amen.
00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:50.319
If you look at this scripture, uh, Zeke, if you don't mind putting it back up there for us, what's amazing about this is you will see this incredible movement of the gospel that essentially is like dot, dot, dot, still going today.
00:06:50.720 --> 00:06:58.560
Because Paul clearly lays out what we see here, even in these couple of verses, are four generations of discipleship.
00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:02.879
And this is how the gospel moves, and this is how the gospel expands.
00:07:03.040 --> 00:07:04.879
Do you see the four generations?
00:07:05.120 --> 00:07:16.399
He says, and what you you have heard from me, entrust to faithful men and women, right, who are able, who are able to teach others also.
00:07:16.560 --> 00:07:17.839
Are you tracking with me?
00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:24.399
Four generations, four generations here of discipleship in one sentence.
00:07:24.560 --> 00:07:34.000
So as Paul's own life runs out, the gospel's future doesn't solely rest on the life of Paul.
00:07:34.879 --> 00:07:55.439
And oftentimes we come in and out of church and we develop, and the church helps us, we develop what I call the man of God syndrome, where it isn't really much different than the Catholic Church, where they, you know, oftentimes you you're not even really encouraged to read the Bible for yourself.
00:07:55.680 --> 00:08:03.040
You're called, you know, you're you go to uh you have to have someone between you and God, a mediator, so to speak.
00:08:03.360 --> 00:08:12.639
And we kind of settle in, even in the Christian church, into this model where I'll just hear from the man of God and he'll tell me what to do.
00:08:12.959 --> 00:08:14.800
That's not what we see here.
00:08:15.040 --> 00:08:17.839
Paul's saying, hey, I'm gonna die.
00:08:19.279 --> 00:08:21.439
But the gospel isn't.
00:08:21.920 --> 00:08:27.360
And it isn't because Timothy, you're faithful, and I've entrusted the gospel to you.
00:08:27.600 --> 00:08:36.080
And then I want you to take what's been entrusted to you and pass on to someone else who's able to teach others also.
00:08:36.480 --> 00:08:38.720
Four amazing generations.
00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:40.960
This is Paul's succession plan.
00:08:41.279 --> 00:08:44.799
We call it relational discipleship.
00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:52.159
Because truly, as you see today, this so just for sake of terms, a disciple is someone who follows Jesus.
00:08:52.320 --> 00:08:56.000
Hopefully, today you've made that decision to say, hey, I'm gonna follow Jesus.
00:08:56.159 --> 00:09:02.320
When we are water baptized, you're literally saying, hey, I'm a disciple, I'm gonna follow Jesus the rest of my life.
00:09:02.480 --> 00:09:05.840
If that's not you, if you hadn't made that decision, today is your day.
00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:08.480
If that's not you, you haven't gone public with your faith.
00:09:08.639 --> 00:09:09.600
Hey, today's your day.
00:09:09.679 --> 00:09:11.360
Let us know you want to be baptized.
00:09:11.519 --> 00:09:14.720
That's a public declaration saying, I am a disciple.
00:09:15.039 --> 00:09:22.639
And really, Jesus doesn't call us to be better Christians, he calls us to be disciples, followers of Jesus.
00:09:23.120 --> 00:09:27.279
Then we have this big term uh discipleship.
00:09:27.440 --> 00:09:28.879
What is discipleship?
00:09:29.039 --> 00:09:31.519
It's helping someone else follow Jesus.
00:09:31.759 --> 00:09:34.159
We can't really make it any plainer than that.
00:09:34.320 --> 00:09:37.840
And so Paul's successions plan is relational discipleship.
00:09:37.919 --> 00:09:42.559
He doesn't tell Timothy, hey, write this down and follow, you know, like file it away.
00:09:42.720 --> 00:09:43.600
What is he doing?
00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:47.279
Is he writing this letter, his last letter before he dies?
00:09:47.600 --> 00:09:48.639
What is he saying?
00:09:48.799 --> 00:09:53.600
He's literally saying, go find someone else and tell them the story.
00:09:53.919 --> 00:09:57.840
Go find someone else and entrust this gospel to them.
00:09:58.159 --> 00:10:00.720
It's amazing the trust Paul had.
00:10:05.039 --> 00:10:09.519
He didn't like say, hey, make sure, you know, they've been through cemetery.
00:10:09.600 --> 00:10:15.679
I mean seminary and uh, you know, make sure they're this and make sure they're that.
00:10:15.840 --> 00:10:20.080
He literally says, find a faithful person that'll tell somebody else.
00:10:20.480 --> 00:10:22.879
It's like a cosmic game of tag.
00:10:23.679 --> 00:10:29.440
Where, man, you've been tagged, now who is it in your life that you are tagging?
00:10:29.759 --> 00:10:32.960
See, this is the big idea I want you to stick with today.
00:10:33.200 --> 00:10:37.679
The gospel that saved you was never meant to stop with you.
00:10:39.440 --> 00:10:42.240
That seems simple, but it's profound.
00:10:42.720 --> 00:10:45.840
Let me ask it in a more confrontational way.
00:10:46.399 --> 00:10:50.720
Has the gospel that saved you stopped with you?
00:10:54.080 --> 00:10:55.279
Another question.
00:10:55.519 --> 00:10:58.080
Who have you told the good news to?
00:10:58.559 --> 00:11:00.960
Who have you shared your testimony to?
00:11:01.120 --> 00:11:05.120
Who have you talked to about the cross and what Christ did for you?
00:11:06.799 --> 00:11:10.639
So that's a challenging question for us today.
00:11:10.799 --> 00:11:14.799
And in the scripture, Paul gives us a couple things I'll highlight.
00:11:14.879 --> 00:11:17.279
I picked three because pastors love three.
00:11:18.639 --> 00:11:26.320
One is I love that he starts with receive grace in Christ Jesus.
00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:27.519
What does he say?
00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:34.320
He says, Timothy, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
00:11:34.480 --> 00:11:38.720
Now, Timothy had already been touched by the amazing grace.
00:11:39.039 --> 00:11:45.600
A lot of what we were singing and worshiping and receiving communion today about the grace of God that impacted our life.
00:11:45.840 --> 00:11:47.759
No longer are we the same.
00:11:47.919 --> 00:11:49.120
We've been made new.
00:11:49.279 --> 00:11:51.039
That's the name of the series, right?
00:11:51.279 --> 00:11:52.240
By his grace.
00:11:52.399 --> 00:11:58.559
But Paul now is saying, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:04.879
Notice Paul doesn't say, Timothy, Timothy, strengthen yourself.
00:12:05.679 --> 00:12:06.320
Right?
00:12:06.639 --> 00:12:12.639
Paul says, he doesn't even say, hey, Timothy, go and make disciples.
00:12:12.960 --> 00:12:14.399
He says, be strengthened.
00:12:14.559 --> 00:12:19.759
The literal translation there is, keep being strengthened.
00:12:20.559 --> 00:12:22.080
How many know that's important?
00:12:22.320 --> 00:12:30.639
We need to know that it's not just by our own merit or by our own works that we go to do the things Jesus tells us to do.
00:12:30.799 --> 00:12:35.519
Literally, Paul's telling Timothy, stay anchored in the grace of God.
00:12:35.759 --> 00:12:38.799
Be strengthened by it on an ongoing basis.
00:12:38.960 --> 00:12:42.240
Keep drawing from a grace that doesn't come from you.
00:12:42.399 --> 00:12:44.720
But the grace that is where?
00:12:45.600 --> 00:12:46.879
Where's that grace?
00:12:47.600 --> 00:12:49.919
That grace has an address, doesn't it?
00:12:50.720 --> 00:12:53.039
Grace has an address, doesn't it?
00:12:53.679 --> 00:12:55.120
What's the address?
00:12:55.919 --> 00:12:56.559
Christ.
00:12:56.799 --> 00:12:58.000
It says, look what it says.
00:12:58.080 --> 00:12:59.440
Can we put that scripture back up there?
00:12:59.519 --> 00:13:00.480
Sorry, Zeke.
00:13:00.720 --> 00:13:08.000
It says, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:10.320
I love that.
00:13:10.399 --> 00:13:12.480
And he's what kind of grace is he talking about?
00:13:12.639 --> 00:13:21.440
He's talking about the undeserved help, a free gift from God, something that you earn, something that you can't earn or you don't earn by your own good works.
00:13:21.600 --> 00:13:25.600
It is the grace that is active fuel in our lives.
00:13:25.919 --> 00:13:33.039
Grace doesn't just cover your past, it's basically supplies the strength you need day by day.
00:13:34.159 --> 00:13:37.440
It comes from an external source.
00:13:37.759 --> 00:13:41.840
The streak doesn't come from inside you to do anything for Jesus.
00:13:42.080 --> 00:13:46.000
In fact, what did what did what did John say?
00:13:46.159 --> 00:13:49.919
Apart from Jesus, you can do nothing, right?
00:13:50.159 --> 00:13:51.440
It's an external source.
00:13:51.519 --> 00:13:55.039
That strength doesn't come from inside you, it comes from Christ.
00:13:55.279 --> 00:13:57.600
And that's important, you know why?
00:13:57.919 --> 00:13:59.919
Because we're sinners.
00:14:00.799 --> 00:14:09.200
And disciple making can quickly become just another Christian responsibility.
00:14:09.600 --> 00:14:15.600
Just add it to the list of the things I have to do to call myself a Christian.
00:14:15.919 --> 00:14:27.679
And this idea of being strengthened and continuing to be strengthened by grace keeps us from sort of developing this try harder, do more mentality, right?
00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:30.000
And that's not the gospel.
00:14:30.320 --> 00:14:37.120
The gospel is continue to be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
00:14:37.440 --> 00:14:47.679
The Christian life doesn't begin with what you do for Jesus, it begins for what Jesus has already done for you.
00:14:47.919 --> 00:15:01.120
So when he's saying be strengthened by this grace, it's like just what we did this morning when we held that bread and we held that juice, it's like, let's not have gospel amnesia.
00:15:01.360 --> 00:15:04.000
Let's not forget what Christ has done for us.
00:15:04.159 --> 00:15:11.600
Let the motivating factor be love, that you've been touched by love, and now love motivates you to go do the things we're saying.
00:15:11.840 --> 00:15:28.480
I pause on this because if I just start plowing through the idea of relational discipleship and give you more things to do, then seriously, I'm just heaping more moralism on your life, and I'm not really like we're not, we're not really preaching the gospel.
00:15:28.720 --> 00:15:36.159
The gospel literally says, apart from Christ, we're dead in our sin, but in Christ, remember the address?
00:15:36.399 --> 00:15:39.039
But in Christ, we've been made alive.
00:15:39.840 --> 00:15:46.559
The gospel literally says, apart from Christ, we were guilty, but in Christ, we're forgiven.
00:15:46.879 --> 00:15:48.559
Can we say in Christ?
00:15:49.840 --> 00:15:56.639
Apart from Christ, we were separated from God, but we've been reconciled.
00:15:56.799 --> 00:15:57.279
Come on.
00:15:57.440 --> 00:15:57.919
We love it.
00:15:58.080 --> 00:16:00.240
Participation better than observation this morning.
00:16:00.320 --> 00:16:00.960
Let's get it.
00:16:01.200 --> 00:16:10.399
Apart from Christ, we live for ourselves, but we've been given a new identity, a new family, and a new mission.
00:16:11.279 --> 00:16:12.639
We might need a B3 up here.
00:16:14.320 --> 00:16:19.279
Some of y'all don't know what a B3 is, but uh you need to know what a B3 is.
00:16:19.360 --> 00:16:20.399
Isn't that right, Jamal?
00:16:20.559 --> 00:16:20.960
Come on.
00:16:21.200 --> 00:16:22.480
Come on, somebody.
00:16:22.799 --> 00:16:30.399
You've been made new, and that's where discipleship or disciple making begins.
00:16:31.039 --> 00:16:37.200
You don't uh disciple people because you finally become impressive enough.
00:16:38.720 --> 00:16:39.919
I just gotta say this.
00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:50.159
It's like, I know it's so basic, but sometimes we think in our head, well, one day when I achieve this level, then I might could impart something to someone else.
00:16:50.399 --> 00:16:55.759
You don't disciple because you finally become impressive enough to help somebody else.
00:16:55.919 --> 00:17:02.080
You disciple because you received something you didn't create and can never earn.
00:17:02.399 --> 00:17:04.079
Grace comes to you.
00:17:04.960 --> 00:17:10.960
This is what Paul's telling Timothy, grace comes to you before it can ever flow through you.
00:17:11.279 --> 00:17:17.200
And he's saying, be strengthened by the grace that's in Christ Jesus.
00:17:17.440 --> 00:17:21.920
When you taste God's grace, you can't help but give it away.
00:17:22.480 --> 00:17:25.519
I mean, I am a restaurant evangelist.
00:17:25.839 --> 00:17:30.720
You can talk to me for five minutes, and I'll tell you seven places to eat, even in Midland.
00:17:31.359 --> 00:17:34.640
And you'll be like, I've lived in Midland my whole life, I've never tried those.
00:17:34.799 --> 00:17:36.000
I'm like, yeah, I know.
00:17:36.319 --> 00:17:38.640
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:41.119
Come on, somebody.
00:17:43.599 --> 00:17:51.440
When you understand grace at this level, you can't help but give it away.
00:17:52.079 --> 00:17:55.279
Maybe in some ways we've grown a little numb to it.
00:17:55.519 --> 00:17:57.920
It's like we've developed a cowlous.
00:17:58.160 --> 00:18:09.680
That's what I love about coming together, gathering, I think that's why the the command is to gather together, because when we gather like this on Sunday morning, which is commanded, it's not really optional.
00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:14.240
I am reminded when I hear you sing, and some of y'all can really sing.
00:18:14.480 --> 00:18:17.920
Others of you are more like me, but that's okay.
00:18:18.160 --> 00:18:23.839
When you're singing these words, I'm reminded that I am saved by grace.
00:18:24.079 --> 00:18:26.240
I'm reminded of his amazing grace.
00:18:26.319 --> 00:18:29.440
When we're singing there's power in the blood, I'm reminded of that.
00:18:29.599 --> 00:18:35.039
I'm not going to get that anywhere else, but the gathered, the gathering of the believers.
00:18:35.200 --> 00:18:38.480
And I thank you for making that commitment to do that.
00:18:38.559 --> 00:18:49.119
But sometimes we could grow numb to it, and that's why this helps us, because essentially it's like starts filing off what we could be calloused in our hearts or our motives.
00:18:49.359 --> 00:18:56.480
And that's exactly what Paul's first word to Timothy isn't isn't go disciple somebody.
00:18:56.960 --> 00:18:58.000
What was it?
00:18:58.240 --> 00:19:02.079
It's continue to be strengthened by the same grace that saved you.
00:19:02.400 --> 00:19:09.119
So what keeps discipleship from becoming works of obedience is when it's fueled by grace.
00:19:09.359 --> 00:19:10.000
Amen.
00:19:10.400 --> 00:19:12.720
So this is step one.
00:19:13.039 --> 00:19:20.640
Receive his grace and keep receiving his grace for all of life and ministry.
00:19:20.799 --> 00:19:28.480
Whatever you're doing, we need to abide in divine, constantly feeding on the grace and goodness of God.
00:19:28.720 --> 00:19:29.359
Amen.
00:19:29.599 --> 00:19:33.119
He then says, Entrust what you've received to others.
00:19:33.359 --> 00:19:40.160
Paul continues, What you've heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust a faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:42.559
Notice Paul's language here.
00:19:43.359 --> 00:19:47.680
And we have to kind of kick against this a little bit in modern culture.
00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:51.680
Paul's language is what you have heard from me.
00:19:52.319 --> 00:19:55.119
Do you hear the sort of personal nature?
00:19:55.359 --> 00:20:00.319
Not what you read about me, not what you know about me, but what you have heard from me.
00:20:00.640 --> 00:20:03.680
Paul was in Timothy's life.
00:20:04.799 --> 00:20:06.720
That's significant, isn't it?
00:20:07.599 --> 00:20:09.440
That's significant, isn't it?
00:20:09.839 --> 00:20:11.440
Yes, that's significant.
00:20:11.680 --> 00:20:15.920
Timothy didn't simply consume Paul's content.
00:20:17.759 --> 00:20:20.880
He experienced Paul's life.
00:20:22.720 --> 00:20:28.559
This is why, again, we need we it's why we need even more than this gathering.
00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:31.440
It's why we need more than classes.
00:20:32.559 --> 00:20:37.680
Disciples aren't necessarily made in those uh environments.
00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:41.519
Paul is stressing relational discipleship.
00:20:41.680 --> 00:20:45.599
You're like, Pastor Mike, what do you mean by relational discipleship?
00:20:45.759 --> 00:20:51.359
I mean one-on-one, nose-to-nose, life on life.
00:20:52.319 --> 00:20:56.319
You need to ask yourself, who do I have like this in my life?
00:20:56.480 --> 00:20:58.400
Like, who is my Paul?
00:21:00.799 --> 00:21:05.200
If Paul is only in your earbuds, then you could be in trouble.
00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:17.200
And then likewise, because this we have two objectives, you might need to ask not only who is my Paul, but then who is my Timothy?
00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:21.519
God's challenging all of us this morning.
00:21:21.680 --> 00:21:31.200
We live in a world where we can be more spiritually informed than any generation in history and still be personally unknown.
00:21:33.599 --> 00:21:37.200
Many times we try to outsource discipleship.
00:21:37.440 --> 00:21:38.480
You know what it is.
00:21:38.559 --> 00:21:46.240
Like maybe you work in a company and you need some marketing and arts, and you don't have your own marketing department, so you outsource it.
00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:49.200
You go outside of yourself to get that thing done.
00:21:49.359 --> 00:21:52.240
That's the way we relate in discipleship often.
00:21:52.559 --> 00:22:03.759
We outsource it to some other source and we're and to other platforms and personalities and You know, podcasts and apps and sermons.
00:22:03.920 --> 00:22:13.440
And while all of those are a gift, we can have dozens of voices, again, in our in our earbuds who don't even know our name.
00:22:15.200 --> 00:22:18.480
Paul and Timothy are intimately connected.
00:22:18.720 --> 00:22:20.000
They're in relationships.
00:22:20.079 --> 00:22:29.279
So when we're talking about discipleship, we're talking about relational, one-on-one, nose-to-nose life on life.
00:22:29.599 --> 00:22:32.480
I want you to remember this.
00:22:34.480 --> 00:22:43.200
You can attend church anonymously, but you can't be discipled anonymously.
00:22:44.240 --> 00:22:45.759
Yeah, I'll say that again, Will.
00:22:45.839 --> 00:22:46.960
Thank you, Pastor Will.
00:22:48.079 --> 00:22:51.519
You can attend church anonymously.
00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:53.839
Some are easier than others.
00:22:54.160 --> 00:22:57.680
This isn't the easiest place to be anonymous.
00:22:57.920 --> 00:22:59.599
We will find you out.
00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:01.279
Why?
00:23:01.519 --> 00:23:04.559
Because we want you to grow to everything God called you to be.
00:23:04.720 --> 00:23:11.039
But you can attend church anonymously, but you can't be discipled anonymously.
00:23:11.279 --> 00:23:13.279
Somebody has to know you.
00:23:13.440 --> 00:23:17.279
Paul is saying discipleship happens in relationship.
00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:23.279
Someone helps you follow Jesus, and then eventually you become that person for someone else.
00:23:23.599 --> 00:23:24.960
This is how it works.
00:23:25.200 --> 00:23:26.480
Paul's in prison.
00:23:26.720 --> 00:23:28.000
He's about to die.
00:23:28.319 --> 00:23:30.400
The gospel could die with him.
00:23:30.720 --> 00:23:36.079
His only play, plan A, is relational discipleship.
00:23:38.960 --> 00:23:41.440
That's powerful to think about, isn't it?
00:23:42.480 --> 00:23:43.759
I'll let that lay there.
00:23:43.839 --> 00:23:45.119
You don't have to answer me.
00:23:47.359 --> 00:23:48.319
Come on.
00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:57.279
Paul also gives us, he identifies who we should disciple.
00:23:57.440 --> 00:23:59.519
He says, and trust the faithful men and women.
00:23:59.599 --> 00:24:01.519
I just want to make a note here sometimes.
00:24:01.680 --> 00:24:04.960
We can get discouraged by chasing the wrong people.
00:24:05.359 --> 00:24:13.599
Now, everyone matters to God, but if they're not hungry and if they're just running, at some point you just got to become an oasis.
00:24:13.839 --> 00:24:15.200
You know what I mean by that?
00:24:15.440 --> 00:24:19.279
You need to be the person they know, like, has the goods.
00:24:20.079 --> 00:24:24.559
And when they get thirsty, they'll come to you and get a drink.
00:24:24.720 --> 00:24:34.240
But sometimes we get discouraged because we're chasing knuckleheads when there's actually faithful men and women all around us who are hungry.
00:24:34.559 --> 00:24:38.400
So he says here, and trust of faithful men and women.
00:24:38.640 --> 00:24:43.359
Here's the truth faithful people pursue you and are hungry to grow.
00:24:44.559 --> 00:24:48.400
Paul also gives us the only thing needed to make disciples.
00:24:48.559 --> 00:24:51.599
It isn't talent or credentials, not perfect people.
00:24:51.839 --> 00:24:54.799
His only requirement is faithful people.
00:24:56.079 --> 00:24:56.640
Why?
00:24:56.960 --> 00:25:01.200
Because the gospel that saved you was never meant to stop with you.
00:25:01.440 --> 00:25:03.920
And faithful people understand that.
00:25:04.079 --> 00:25:09.119
A, they receive the gospel and they receive it and they give it away.
00:25:09.359 --> 00:25:11.440
That's what faithful people do.
00:25:12.559 --> 00:25:16.079
Oftentimes we overthink this, we overcomplicate it.
00:25:16.319 --> 00:25:20.559
We think to ourselves, God is not ready to use me yet.
00:25:20.720 --> 00:25:24.319
While God says, I'm ready to use you now.
00:25:25.279 --> 00:25:30.640
Whatever part you have, whatever you know, I mean, you may not know a whole lot.
00:25:30.799 --> 00:25:37.039
I mean, if you've read one page of the Bible, you've read more than probably somebody at your work.
00:25:39.519 --> 00:25:45.359
So you see the qualifications, he simplifies it down to this idea of faithfulness.
00:25:45.920 --> 00:25:47.839
Paul's saying the same thing here.
00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:51.440
He's saying, not asking Timothy to find something with it all figured out.
00:25:51.680 --> 00:25:53.519
He's asking for faithfulness.
00:25:53.680 --> 00:25:59.519
At Neely, we've kind of tried to unpack the word faithful into this acronym we called faith.
00:25:59.680 --> 00:26:07.119
And this is who we want to disciple, this is who we want to make disciples, this is who we're going to train as leaders, this is the qualification.
00:26:07.359 --> 00:26:08.000
Faithfulness.
00:26:08.079 --> 00:26:16.319
We call it faith, which is simply faithful, available, involved, teachable, and hungry.
00:26:17.759 --> 00:26:18.799
Think about that.
00:26:18.880 --> 00:26:23.759
Those are all attitudes we can control, desires of our heart.
00:26:23.920 --> 00:26:36.240
This isn't about how much you know, how many books you read, what classes you've gone to, this is about a disposition of the heart.
00:26:37.200 --> 00:26:39.359
So here's what I want to do today.
00:26:39.519 --> 00:26:41.599
I need to ask, am I a man of faith?
00:26:41.839 --> 00:26:43.519
Am I a woman of faith?
00:26:45.680 --> 00:26:49.599
And who do I look for to pour my life to entrust the gospel to?
00:26:49.839 --> 00:26:51.440
I look for people with faith.
00:26:52.079 --> 00:26:54.160
Literally, that's all we're saying.
00:26:54.319 --> 00:26:56.720
Who should you invest in and help follow Jesus?
00:26:56.960 --> 00:26:58.240
People with faith.
00:26:59.519 --> 00:27:02.079
And who should make disciples?
00:27:02.880 --> 00:27:04.319
People with faith.
00:27:06.240 --> 00:27:07.759
Are you tracking with me?
00:27:08.480 --> 00:27:10.960
You don't have to be a pastor to disciple somebody.
00:27:11.039 --> 00:27:13.200
You don't need a seminary degree.
00:27:13.279 --> 00:27:14.880
You don't have to know everything.
00:27:15.839 --> 00:27:21.119
You simply need to be willing to take what Jesus is teaching you and walk it out with someone else.
00:27:21.359 --> 00:27:26.000
Because discipleship isn't follow me, I've arrived.
00:27:28.319 --> 00:27:31.359
It's come with me, let's follow Jesus together.
00:27:33.279 --> 00:27:36.720
The third thing is multiplication is the mission.
00:27:37.279 --> 00:27:39.839
Paul doesn't stop with Timothy and faithful people.
00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:44.079
He says these faithful people will be able to teach others also.
00:27:44.160 --> 00:27:45.759
Remember the four generations.
00:27:46.000 --> 00:27:47.119
It's multiplication.
00:27:47.359 --> 00:27:51.519
Paul to Timothy, Timothy to faithful people, faithful people to others.
00:27:51.759 --> 00:27:53.359
The gospel keeps moving.
00:27:53.519 --> 00:27:56.319
That's what Jesus commanded us in Matthew 28.
00:27:56.480 --> 00:28:00.480
Thinking about Paul's last words, what about Jesus' last words?
00:28:00.880 --> 00:28:03.359
How many know last words are important?
00:28:03.839 --> 00:28:05.920
What was Jesus' last words?
00:28:06.240 --> 00:28:09.039
You go therefore and make disciples.
00:28:09.519 --> 00:28:13.599
He literally said the same thing that Paul is saying to Timothy.
00:28:14.559 --> 00:28:16.160
There is no plan B.
00:28:16.319 --> 00:28:23.359
He didn't say, you know, uh, go and attend church, although attending church is good.
00:28:24.640 --> 00:28:29.039
He didn't say go and sing songs, although singing songs is good.
00:28:29.440 --> 00:28:32.079
He said, go and make disciples.
00:28:32.720 --> 00:28:34.880
This is the Great Commission.
00:28:35.680 --> 00:28:39.839
Or as some scholars call it, the great omission.
00:28:41.839 --> 00:28:44.160
I guess I'll just let that go right over your head.
00:28:44.319 --> 00:28:47.359
I didn't get an ooh or an ah or oh my or nothing.
00:28:47.599 --> 00:28:51.920
Meaning the church is omitting the one thing that Jesus told us to do.
00:28:54.160 --> 00:29:00.079
Jesus didn't simply call us to make converts, he called us to make disciples.
00:29:02.079 --> 00:29:05.920
People who learn to follow Jesus, people who learn to obey Jesus.
00:29:06.240 --> 00:29:10.480
And what I love is that you don't have to personally manage the four generations.
00:29:11.279 --> 00:29:12.720
You just have to be faithful.
00:29:12.960 --> 00:29:14.640
You're part of the link.
00:29:16.240 --> 00:29:17.680
Are you tracking with me?
00:29:18.000 --> 00:29:22.319
Like if it's Paul, Timothy, faithful, others, I don't have to manage all that.
00:29:22.720 --> 00:29:26.559
I just need to be faithful with where I'm at and what God's called me to do.
00:29:28.160 --> 00:29:31.519
Someone invested you, now invest in somebody else.
00:29:31.839 --> 00:29:34.079
So that's why I want to challenge some of us today.
00:29:34.240 --> 00:29:38.880
Maybe you've been following Jesus for years, but you've never intentionally discipled another person.
00:29:39.200 --> 00:29:40.400
This is your moment.
00:29:40.960 --> 00:29:46.000
Maybe you want to do what Jesus commanded, but you've never, you know, never made a disciple.
00:29:46.160 --> 00:29:47.279
This is your moment.
00:29:47.519 --> 00:29:52.079
Maybe you want to grow spiritually, but you've never invited someone to grow with you.
00:29:52.319 --> 00:29:53.519
This is your moment.
00:29:54.480 --> 00:29:59.359
Maybe you thought discipleship is something that pastors do.
00:29:59.599 --> 00:30:00.880
This is your moment.
00:30:01.200 --> 00:30:09.839
And so as I begin to wrap this up, Paul wasn't just confronting Timothy in this letter, facing execution.
00:30:10.079 --> 00:30:13.200
He was making sure the gospel didn't die with him.
00:30:14.799 --> 00:30:18.480
Paul doesn't tell Timothy to keep it going, he models it.
00:30:18.640 --> 00:30:24.799
In fact, the whole letter is Paul literally entrusting the gospel to Timothy.
00:30:25.039 --> 00:30:36.000
And again, that's why we're walking through this series to settle these foundations and to activate relational discipleship in your life.
00:30:36.240 --> 00:30:53.119
We're going to revisit these foundations together because you're not, you know, not because you're a beginner, maybe you are, and this is your first time, but because what I said in the beginning, even strong foundations need to be examined.
00:30:54.000 --> 00:30:56.160
My house did, that's for sure.
00:30:56.400 --> 00:30:57.839
And it was costly.
00:30:59.119 --> 00:31:00.720
We're also going to do something else.
00:31:00.799 --> 00:31:07.680
We're going to learn how to take those foundations and help you build them in someone else.
00:31:07.920 --> 00:31:10.079
I want to introduce a tool to you.
00:31:10.160 --> 00:31:11.599
You've probably seen it around.
00:31:11.759 --> 00:31:14.240
We call this the one-to-one.
00:31:14.720 --> 00:31:18.799
And it literally says a personal discipleship guide.
00:31:19.119 --> 00:31:23.599
Meaning, not personal as in this is your personal discipleship guide.
00:31:23.680 --> 00:31:24.799
Go home and read it.
00:31:25.039 --> 00:31:31.440
No, this is what you can use to do effectively do what we're telling you to do today.
00:31:31.599 --> 00:31:35.440
What we're encouraging you to do, what we're reminding you that the Bible told you to do.
00:31:35.680 --> 00:31:37.920
This is just a systematic way.
00:31:39.119 --> 00:31:40.319
I wrote it like this.
00:31:40.559 --> 00:31:44.079
I wrote it, this is a low-tech answer to a high-tech problem.
00:31:45.920 --> 00:31:47.440
And it's an awesome tool.
00:31:47.519 --> 00:31:52.799
And literally all you have to do is read it to someone as far as using the tool.
00:31:53.039 --> 00:31:55.599
It's simple, it's relational, it's reproducible.
00:31:55.680 --> 00:31:57.359
There's seven lessons in there.
00:31:57.599 --> 00:32:03.920
Also, not only do we have these books, which we will give you on the way out today, these little booklets, there is an app.
00:32:04.079 --> 00:32:06.880
So if you prefer the digital way, there's a one-to-one app.
00:32:06.960 --> 00:32:08.079
Don't download it right now.
00:32:08.240 --> 00:32:09.839
I'm almost finished.
00:32:11.920 --> 00:32:15.599
But one, the one-to-one isn't the disciple maker.
00:32:16.319 --> 00:32:17.519
It's a tool.
00:32:17.759 --> 00:32:19.440
You're the disciple maker.
00:32:20.079 --> 00:32:29.920
The tool doesn't replace relationship, it gives you a pathway for having the right conversations, opening the scriptures, and helping to lay foundations in someone's life.
00:32:30.079 --> 00:32:31.119
Does that make sense?
00:32:31.359 --> 00:32:34.160
So maybe you're asking, how do I start?
00:32:34.319 --> 00:32:37.039
I just want to give you a couple ways how you could start.
00:32:37.279 --> 00:32:38.559
Say, you know what?
00:32:39.039 --> 00:32:42.079
This is the moment I'm going to make a disciple.
00:32:42.319 --> 00:32:46.799
Here's how you start: you pray and ask God, who's my one?
00:32:48.160 --> 00:32:50.079
I mean, that's not too much.
00:32:50.559 --> 00:32:53.920
Don't begin by asking who needs to be fixed.
00:32:54.079 --> 00:32:58.160
They're probably in your house and they probably think the same thing about you.
00:32:59.119 --> 00:33:01.759
Ask, who am I being called to love?
00:33:02.079 --> 00:33:06.160
Maybe it's a coworker, a neighbor, a friend, someone in your life group.
00:33:06.400 --> 00:33:07.519
Ding, ding, ding.
00:33:07.599 --> 00:33:13.039
There's a chance you're in a group with someone who needs someone to walk with them individually.
00:33:13.200 --> 00:33:16.559
It's a great fishing pool, fishing pond.
00:33:17.440 --> 00:33:21.680
Someone who's been following Jesus for years but has never been really discipled.
00:33:21.759 --> 00:33:22.960
They're a candidate.
00:33:23.200 --> 00:33:26.319
And then pray and ask, and the next thing is invest.
00:33:27.200 --> 00:33:28.720
Be a good friend.
00:33:29.039 --> 00:33:30.880
This isn't just about a program.
00:33:31.039 --> 00:33:32.559
I'm not just giving you stars.
00:33:32.640 --> 00:33:35.680
It's not like we're tracking your discipleship in this.
00:33:35.920 --> 00:33:36.240
Right?
00:33:36.400 --> 00:33:41.839
And you just, every disciple you make who goes and makes another disciple, we give you a gold star.
00:33:43.359 --> 00:33:46.319
Although the Bible does talk about jewels in your crown.
00:33:46.400 --> 00:33:48.880
I don't know about that, but that sounds pretty good.
00:33:49.519 --> 00:33:52.880
So before you try to be a disciple, or just be a good friend.
00:33:53.039 --> 00:33:56.880
Grab coffee, listen to their story, ask questions, walk with them.
00:33:57.039 --> 00:33:59.680
It's just a relationship you already have.
00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:01.519
Invite them at the right time.
00:34:01.599 --> 00:34:02.400
Just make it simple.
00:34:02.559 --> 00:34:06.480
Say, hey, I've been wanting to grow deeper in my faith, and I'd love to do this with you.
00:34:06.720 --> 00:34:08.800
Would you like to meet with me for a few weeks?
00:34:08.960 --> 00:34:13.199
I got a simple guide we can walk through together.
00:34:14.800 --> 00:34:17.119
You don't have to say, I got all the answers.
00:34:17.360 --> 00:34:20.559
You just get to say, hey, let's follow Jesus together.
00:34:20.960 --> 00:34:22.639
Pretty easy so far, right?
00:34:22.800 --> 00:34:24.000
And then walk with them.
00:34:24.159 --> 00:34:27.519
Use the one-to-one, but don't just complete the lessons.
00:34:27.760 --> 00:34:35.360
Like this is again a guide, steps to take, but it's not like we're checking off boxes and we're mechanical.
00:34:36.159 --> 00:34:37.440
We're relational.
00:34:38.079 --> 00:34:40.000
And so we walk with them.
00:34:40.239 --> 00:34:41.519
We do life together.
00:34:41.760 --> 00:34:43.840
When they have questions, walk with them.
00:34:44.000 --> 00:34:45.519
When they struggle, walk with them.
00:34:45.679 --> 00:34:47.599
Well, what if they ask me something I don't know?
00:34:47.760 --> 00:34:49.840
Here's the golden great answer.
00:34:50.159 --> 00:34:51.360
I don't know.
00:34:52.719 --> 00:34:55.440
What if they ask me something I don't know the answer to?
00:34:55.599 --> 00:34:56.880
Here's the answer.
00:34:57.119 --> 00:34:58.079
I don't know.
00:34:58.320 --> 00:34:59.920
But let's find it together.
00:35:00.159 --> 00:35:02.159
Let's go talk to someone who may.
00:35:02.719 --> 00:35:03.519
Are you with me?
00:35:03.679 --> 00:35:05.440
Are you tracking with me on it?
00:35:05.840 --> 00:35:07.039
And then multiply.
00:35:07.119 --> 00:35:08.480
Don't stop with your one.
00:35:08.639 --> 00:35:10.239
Paul invested in Timothy.
00:35:11.440 --> 00:35:15.840
Timothy invested in faithful people, and then those people invested in others.
00:35:16.079 --> 00:35:17.840
That's the picture we're after.
00:35:18.000 --> 00:35:25.599
Not I discipled someone, but I helped somebody become a disciple who can help someone else follow Jesus.
00:35:25.840 --> 00:35:36.320
And so what I love about this tool is that obviously it's the Holy Spirit that does the transformation, but this is systematic in a way where anyone can do it.
00:35:36.960 --> 00:35:43.599
Meaning, I have a new believer who I walk through in the last eight weeks, I walk through the one-to-one with them.
00:35:43.840 --> 00:35:48.320
They're already able to walk this through with someone else.
00:35:48.800 --> 00:35:53.199
Will they do it as good as me, the professional?
00:35:54.400 --> 00:35:57.039
Probably, but maybe not.
00:36:00.239 --> 00:36:01.760
But they'll do it.
00:36:02.320 --> 00:36:03.519
That's the point.
00:36:03.760 --> 00:36:07.119
To give them something simple that they can do.
00:36:07.440 --> 00:36:09.760
And that's what we're offering to you today.
00:36:09.840 --> 00:36:16.800
So when we're talking about pray, invest, invite, walk, multiply, that's a made-new church.
00:36:16.960 --> 00:36:18.800
This is the made new series.
00:36:18.960 --> 00:36:20.880
And this is what we're talking about.
00:36:21.119 --> 00:36:24.800
Before we conclude, I really want to go back to just one last thing.
00:36:24.960 --> 00:36:28.159
That very first scripture I haven't been able to get off of.
00:36:28.400 --> 00:36:37.679
Because all of them, again, like you could listen to this and you start to think in your mind, who's your one and all that stuff, and do the one-to-one and make these steps and almost fall off the stage.
00:36:37.840 --> 00:36:40.239
Should open my eyes before I get that close.
00:36:43.039 --> 00:36:47.519
It's the grace of God that keeps you from stumbling.
00:36:47.840 --> 00:36:49.039
Be strengthened.
00:36:49.360 --> 00:36:55.119
Be continually strengthened in the grace that is found in Christ.
00:36:55.280 --> 00:36:58.320
You can't do this from your own power.
00:36:58.559 --> 00:37:04.480
Grace doesn't just save you, grace strengthens us to give away what we've received.
00:37:04.960 --> 00:37:06.000
Remember that.
00:37:06.239 --> 00:37:08.480
The gospel didn't start with you, right?
00:37:09.679 --> 00:37:12.960
It started on a cross on a hill in Galgotha.
00:37:14.639 --> 00:37:18.719
And the gospel that saved you was never meant to stop with you.
00:37:19.039 --> 00:37:22.800
It didn't start with you and it doesn't stop with you.
00:37:23.199 --> 00:37:25.119
So you've been made new.
00:37:25.519 --> 00:37:31.119
Now go help somebody else discover what it means to be made new in Christ.
00:37:32.480 --> 00:37:42.400
Let's be a church where we have decided I'm going to be a disciple.
00:37:43.599 --> 00:37:46.239
And I'm going to be a disciple that makes disciples.
00:37:46.480 --> 00:37:48.079
That's what this whole series is about.
00:37:48.239 --> 00:37:49.360
It's going to be powerful.
00:37:49.760 --> 00:37:56.639
Next week we're going to we're just going to kind of flow through these topically, but obviously preach them a little differently.
00:37:57.119 --> 00:38:03.920
The cool thing about this, I forgot to say this, is that we actually, the kids are doing this.
00:38:05.199 --> 00:38:07.679
We're using this for groups curriculum.
00:38:08.000 --> 00:38:10.480
It's like permeating every area of the church.
00:38:10.559 --> 00:38:15.519
So like honestly, when you go home, if you have kids, there's a kid version of the one-to-one.
00:38:16.400 --> 00:38:22.880
So we can start right in right around the kitchen table, walking our kids through this.
00:38:23.119 --> 00:38:24.000
And you know what?
00:38:24.159 --> 00:38:28.800
It is literally so simple that your kids can make disciples.
00:38:29.039 --> 00:38:31.840
If they can read, they can make disciples.
00:38:32.960 --> 00:38:34.079
We can do it, church.
00:38:34.239 --> 00:38:34.719
Amen.
00:38:35.119 --> 00:38:36.000
We stand your feet.
00:38:36.079 --> 00:38:36.880
I'll pray for you.
00:38:37.199 --> 00:38:39.679
If you're part of the ministry team, you can come down.
00:38:41.119 --> 00:38:44.159
On the way out, on the way in, I love this.
00:38:44.239 --> 00:38:45.440
This is a beautiful picture.
00:38:45.679 --> 00:38:47.519
On the way in, you were given communion.
00:38:47.679 --> 00:38:50.800
On the way out, you're given a tool to go and make disciples.
00:38:51.199 --> 00:38:52.800
That sounds great.
00:38:55.039 --> 00:38:56.800
You were given the communion elements.
00:38:56.880 --> 00:38:59.119
We didn't express give you communion on the way in.
00:38:59.280 --> 00:39:00.880
You were given the elements.
00:39:02.719 --> 00:39:04.400
You're a beautiful people.
00:39:05.199 --> 00:39:09.679
God has called us to gather together to change our city.
00:39:10.239 --> 00:39:20.159
According to Paul, the only way we're going to change it is to be anchored in this grace and to entrust this gospel with faithful people to teach others also.
00:39:20.719 --> 00:39:21.360
Amen.
00:39:21.920 --> 00:39:24.320
Father, we thank you for this awesome day.
00:39:24.639 --> 00:39:26.480
God bless my friends today.
00:39:26.719 --> 00:39:30.480
God, I pray if anyone has a heavy heart today, they don't leave here heavy.
00:39:30.800 --> 00:39:33.760
God, but they walk down front and we stand with them and pray.
00:39:34.079 --> 00:39:37.760
God, we're a family and we stand in the gap for one another.
00:39:38.079 --> 00:39:42.639
God, if anyone's sick here today, God, I pray you touch them, heal them.
00:39:42.960 --> 00:39:48.800
God, I pray that if they need someone to uh anoint them with oil and pray for them, they'll make their way down front.
00:39:48.960 --> 00:39:54.800
If there's someone here today that realized, you know what, I can't go and make a disciple because I'm not a disciple.
00:39:55.039 --> 00:40:01.599
And they want to give their life to Christ, they would make their way down front and say, I'm ready to give my life to Christ.
00:40:01.920 --> 00:40:03.280
Jesus, we love you.
00:40:03.519 --> 00:40:05.519
We thank you that you're so good to us.
00:40:05.760 --> 00:40:06.639
Bless us today.
00:40:06.719 --> 00:40:07.840
Give us a great week.
00:40:07.920 --> 00:40:16.159
And let this, as we go, let this one-to-one God not just collect dust on our truck dash.
00:40:16.400 --> 00:40:22.800
But God, let us become a tool we implement day in and day out with the people we walk with and we love.
00:40:23.039 --> 00:40:25.760
Help us to be a church made new.
00:40:26.000 --> 00:40:29.119
Disciples that make disciples that make disciples.
00:40:29.280 --> 00:40:30.239
We love you, Lord.
00:40:30.400 --> 00:40:31.679
Bless our friends today.
00:40:31.760 --> 00:40:33.199
In Jesus' name, amen.
00:40:33.360 --> 00:40:34.239
You're dismissed.
00:40:34.320 --> 00:40:35.679
God bless you guys.
