Tag: disciple

Are you a Disciple or a Consumer?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical3 Comments

Disciple or Consumer

In Matthew 20:34 we are told that the blind men Jesus just healed “followed him.” These men didn’t just use Jesus for their own personal gain. They didn’t think of Him as a genie in a bottle who comes out to heal them before disappearing back into the bottle. No, after their sight was restored, after they were healed by Jesus, they got up and followed Him.

Disciples

While some may argue that they just followed Jesus into Jerusalem for the Passover, I believe Matthew is getting at something more. I believe he is telling us they became one of His disciples.

What Their Actions Teach Us

Their actions then teach us that we shouldn’t use Jesus for our personal gain. Instead Jesus’ work in our life, either miraculous or through the church, should cause us to follow Him.

While that is true, I think a lot of people don’t do that. People suffer illnesses or injuries all the time, are healed in miraculous ways and may even credit that to Jesus, but they don’t follow Him.

Crediting Jesus with Something and Following Him are Two Different Things

Following Jesus requires us to allow Him to call the shots in our life, to direct the way we live. Many people don’t want that. Sure, they want Jesus to give. They want His healing touch. They want Him to work everything out in their lives, but they don’t want to follow Him.

For Who He Is

And you know, we are going to continue to use Jesus until we see Him the way these men did in our story, as the Son of David, as our King, as the one who has the right to direct our lives. Until we recognize who Jesus is, we won’t follow Him. All we will do is take from Him, consume, and treat Him and His church as a genie in a bottle. Someone we run to when we are in trouble, but nothing more than that.

So do you see Jesus through the eyes of these two men, as your King? Or do you see Him as just another way to get a handout?

What Jesus Wants

Jesus doesn’t want us to take from Him. Instead, He wants us to give ourselves to Him, to see Him as our King, to follow Him. Jesus wants these things from us. In other words,

He wants disciples not consumers.

Question for Reflection

  1. Are you a disciple, or are you a consumer?

Resource

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Why Should We Follow Jesus? | Part 2

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical12 Comments

Why Should We Follow Jesus Part 2

In my last post in this series, I answered the first of three questions: Why should we follow Jesus? Today, we move on to the last two.

WHAT GETS IN THE WAY OF US FOLLOWING JESUS?

Even though Jesus’ authority points to Him as being God, we are not willing to follow Him. There are several things that get in the way. Things we are not willing to give up. Matthew highlights a few in his narrative.

  • Possessions
  • Family approval
  • Acceptance from friends
  • Our life

These all can keep us from following Jesus, surrendering all to Him, and worshipping Him.

WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO TO REMOVE THE HINDRANCE FROM FOLLOWING JESUS?

(1) We have to count the cost.

I believe people put more consideration into buying a house than to coming to Christ. You would never go to the realtors office, ask for a house, and buy the first one they present to you without checking it out.

Instead, you inspect the house yourself. Drive around the neighborhood. Check out the school district. Make sure the price is fair and the inspection checks out. You bring your friends and family over to get their opinion. You do all those things because buying a house is a 15 to 30 year investment. As well as you want to be sure it is going to serve your family well.

Jesus is relaying the same message to us. He is saying, “Don’t be too quick to follow me. Count the cost. Realize for what you are signing up. If you are truly my disciple, there is a hard road ahead of you.”

(2) We can’t trust in something other than Jesus.

In our narrative the disciples trusted in a boat. Some of you may trust in your bank account or intellectual abilities. Whatever it is, we fail to trust in Jesus because we are trusting in something else. As this story proves, however, a boat will only carry us so far. A bank account will only sustain us for so long. Our intellect can only help us as long as our mind remains intact. Inevitably, these things will fail us.

You see, it is foolishness to put our trust in anything but Jesus. He is the only one who can save us.

Like these men in our narrative, once we realize trusting in anything else will fail us, we must turn to the only one who can save, Jesus Christ. After turning to Him, we must worship Him because Jesus isn’t just a life boat to save us when we are drowning. He is the almighty God who deserves our daily worship.

(3) Jesus is God not just another man.

In our narrative, Jesus proves that He is God. Disciples follow Him at His request. He calms a storm. He heals two demon possessed men with just a word. The demons submit to Him and call Him the Son of God. These things point to His authority and the fact that He is God. God deserves our worship, so we must give that to Him.

We don’t, however, just worship Him when we come together on Sunday. We also worship Him by:

  • Recognizing His authority over our lives.
  • Putting Him first
  • Submitting to Him
  • Obeying Him

In other words, we worship Him with our whole lives.

(4) We can’t value anything above Him.

The people of the city valued their possessions over Jesus, allowing their loss to blind them. When we value something more than God, we are in violation of the first of the Ten Commandments. The first commandment tells us not to put any other gods before the One True God. When we do, we have made that thing into an idol – a god.

In order to rid ourselves of these idols, we have to realize they are not going to last. They are man made. They are temporary. Temporary things break down. They fail us. They disappoint us.

So then, we can’t hold our possessions in greater value than God. We have to be willing to give those up for God. We have to see them for what they are. We can’t allow them to blind us.

(5) Our heart has to be pierced by the gospel.

Only a heart that has been regenerated will submit to God and give Him the worship that is due Him. So we must believe in the gospel.

We must believe that we are sinners in need of a Savior. Jesus is that Savior. He is because He lived a perfect life, and died the death we deserved. He went to the cross to pay the price for our sins. He faced the wrath of God that we deserve. When we believe that, we are saved. Our heart is pierced by the gospel.

Our heart must be regenerated before we can follow Jesus, surrender all to Him, and truly worship Him. You can’t do these things without a changed heart. To try to do so is futile.

Conclusion

Once we come to Christ, count the cost, recognize Jesus is God, and realize we can’t trust in and value anything more than Him. Once we have done those things, we will be in a place where we will be able to follow Jesus, surrender all to Him, and worship Him.

Question for Reflection

  1. What do you allow to get in the way of you following Jesus?

Resource

This series is adapted from my recent sermon: Why Should We Follow Jesus?

Why Should We Follow Jesus? | Part 1

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical1 Comment

Follow Me Part 1

When I was growing up, my dad always told me, “Be a leader, not a follower.” If you think about it, for someone to follow you, they need a reason. My Dad’s advice then meant, I needed to be someone worth following. So when Jesus comes to us and asks us to follow Him. We need a reason to follow Him. The Bible provides us with those reasons.

With that in mind, over the next two posts, I will answer the following questions:

  • Why should we follow Jesus?
  • What gets in the way of following Jesus?
  • What do we need to do to remove the hindrance from follow Jesus?

Let’s start with the first question:

WHY SHOULD WE FOLLOW JESUS?

In Matthew 8, several scenes attest to the power and authority of Jesus.

Jesus Heals Many

In 8:1-15, Jesus heals a Leper, a Centurion’s servant, and Peter’s Mother-in-Law. All three healings take place immediately, and with just a word. As soon as Jesus spoke, the leprosy was gone and the man was clean, the Centurion’s servant was healed before he returned home, and Peter’s Mother-in-Law was able to serve them moments after Jesus healed her.

Not only did Jesus heal these three people, but many more. Matthew continues:

“That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick.” (Mt 8:16)

Jesus shows not only His power over sickness, but the spiritual world as well.

The Turbulent Sea

As we continue on in the narrative, Jesus commands His disciples to follow Him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Several men pile in a boat, but soon a great storm arises. Fearful for their lives, they wake Jesus, who is sleeping, and the men say,

“Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” (Mt 8:25)

Jesus does what only God can do, He calms the sea and rebukes the wind, so that a sea threatening to swallow the boat and the men into a watery grave turns into a sheet of glass, allowing the men safe passage to the other side.

Two Demon Possessed Men

Once they reached the other side, two demon-possessed men who had been tormenting the region come out to meet Him. The men, controlled by demons, say,

“What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” (Mt 8:29)

The Demons explicitly say what the other scenes had been pointing to – Jesus is the Son of God. Not only did they recognize Him as God, but they also recognized His authority and right to judge and punish them.

What does Matthew 8 reveal?

Matthew reveals Jesus’ authority over all things. Which leads to the idea:

If Jesus has full authority over all things, and His authority points to Him being God, we must Follow Him, Surrender all to Him, and Worship Him.

So the answer to our first question reveals we should follow Jesus because of who He is –  God.

Question for Reflection

  1. Do you believe Jesus being God is a reason to follow Him?

Looking Forward

In the next post in this series, we will answer the questions: What gets in the way of us following Jesus? What do we need to do to remove the hindrance from follow Jesus?

Resource

This series is adapted from my recent sermon: Why Should We Follow Jesus?

Why Are We Not Doers of the Word?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical4 Comments

The Bible

In his epistle, James challenges us to be doers of the Word; to be people who live according to God’s commands (James 1:19-26).

After teaching through this section of James, I have been thinking, if God expects us to live according to His Word, why do some disregard this command? I thought of three responses, but I am sure there are more, so let me know what you think.

Why We Are Not Doers of the Word

(1) We are ignorant of what God’s Word says on a particular issue.

This can be corrected by studying God’s Word. To get the most out of God’s Word we must saturate ourselves in it, which we can do by:

  1. Reading it
  2. Studying it
  3. Singing it
  4. Hearing it preached

In order to learn as much as possible about God’s Word, it is important Christians be:

  1. Apart of a church.
  2. Be committed to attending that church.
  3. Get together apart from church times to study Scripture.
  4. Center their conversations around what God is teaching them through their study of God’s Word.

(2) We know the truth, but we are rebelling against God’s Word.

This can be corrected through accountability. It is the job of church members to hold each other accountable, and speak into each others’ lives when they see blatant sin.

Life changing accountability requires:

  1. Deep community.
  2. Commitment to one another.
  3. A strong desire to see God glorified.

Without deep community, commitment, and a strong desire to see God glorified, accountability will not take place.

(3) We are unbelievers who do not see a necessity to live out God’s Word.

This can only be corrected through salvation. Salvation comes through evangelism and the Holy Spirit working on our hearts.

What Are Your Thoughts?

These are three reasons I came up with regarding why we do not live according to God’s commands. After thinking through them and the questions below, let me know your thoughts.

Questions for Reflection

  1. How do you saturate yourself in God’s Word?
  2. How often is God’s Word apart of your everyday conversations?
  3. How much more do you think God would be glorified and your church act as a witness to the community, if you saw accountability as a necessary part of your church body?
  4. How are you personally attempting to reach people with the gospel in your own circle of influence?

Resource

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Turn the Other Cheek

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical3 Comments

Slap in the Face

In Matthew 5:39, Jesus says:

If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

If you are a regular church goer, chances are you have heard this phrase before, but what does it mean? Is Jesus advocating physical abuse? Is He is telling us never to defend ourselves? Or is He talking about something different?

The Action

Before we answer our questions, let’s imagine the action. Two blows are involved. The first blow comes from a person slapping you on your cheek with the back of their hand, causing your face to turn to one side. The second blow would come when you voluntarily turn your other cheek to them, so that they could then come across your face with their open hand.

What does this have to do with being a True Disciple of Jesus?

In Jesus’ day, when someone slapped you with the back, or palm, of their hand, it was more an insult than a physical attack. The person being slapped would be dishonored and shamed. This is true in our day as well. When a man says something rude to a woman, she may slap him. There is no question she may desire to physically harm him, but her slap will probably do nothing more than bruise his ego, dishonor, or shame him.

Jesus is teaching us we are to allow ourselves to be shamed and dishonored instead of retaliating. The idea then is that we are to relinquish our rights to worldly honor. Instead of finding honor from the world, we are to find honor and acceptance in Christ. After all, as Christians, we are the sons of God. What could bring more honor than that?

What would relinquishing our worldly right to honor and personal retaliation accomplish?

(1) It would break the chain of evil.

Our natural response is to hit, take, or offend back, when we have been hit, stolen from, or offended. When we relinquish our rights to worldly honor and personal retaliation, we break the natural chain of evil.

(2) It would take retaliation out of the personal realm and give it to God.

Jesus provides this teaching because the Old Testament Law an an eye for and eye was being misused. The Law’s original intent was to take retaliation out of the personal realm and place it into the hand of the judges, in order to keep blood feuds from starting and preserve Israel’s witness to the surrounding nations.

By Jesus’ day, the Law had been misused. Instead of accomplishing its purpose of limiting personal retaliation the opposite happened. Personal retaliation was exacted more often outside of the court of law. Part of the reason this was happening was because people felt dishonored. In order to gain their honor back, they retaliated.

Jesus then is teaching us that a willingness to be dishonored is necessary to preserve peace and unity in a community, as well as to be patient and allow God or the court to work.

(3) It would show a completely different way of thinking and living than the world, allowing us to witness to those around us. 

Allowing someone to dishonor us, and even physically attack us without defense to a certain extent is completely foreign to most people. When we act in ways different than our society, people want to know why we are acting that way and how we can act that way, which then allows us to be a witness to Jesus and His life transforming power.

Are you willing to give up your worldly honor and be shamed, in order to be a witness for Christ? The question is tough, I know. It is, however, what Jesus is calling us to as His disciples.

What turn the other cheek doesn’t mean

(1) It doesn’t mean we allow someone to abuse us physically, or even mentally.

Advocating physical or mental abuse would be a misuse of Jesus’ teaching. If you are in an abusive relationship, get out of the situation, and get some help. Cities often have abuse shelters. As well as most churches are willing to help. Seek these resources out if you are being abused.

(2) It doesn’t mean we must be a pacifist

We can defend our country, our family, others, and even ourselves at times.

When it comes to defending ourself it gets a bit complex. Some say never, but I believe we can defend ourselves when we are left with no choice. When we do defend ourselves, we should use the least amount of force necessary to protect ourselves. Remember, it is not about our honor. We do not have to win the fight. We can simply punch someone in the face and run away.

Conclusion

Returning to our initial questions, we now see we can fight back against abuse and an attacker. Jesus’ teaching is more about relinquishing our rights to honor than self defense. With His command, Jesus is doing what He has been doing all throughout the Sermon on the Mount, He is attacking our heart, probing to see if we love Him more than our own honor.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Do you agree or disagree?
  2. How have you taught or heard this passage taught in the past?
  3. Does thinking about this passage in light of honor/dishonor help you understand Jesus’ teaching better?

Resources

Sermon: Do Not Resist the One Who Is Evil

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Who is Sitting on the Throne in Your Life?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals2 Comments

Yesterday, I started a new book I received recently, Gospel-Centered Discipleship by Jonathan Dodson. It is a great book! I would highly recommend it. In the first chapter, Dodson defines discipleship from a gospel-centered perspective. After which, he moves to talk about Jesus being the Lord of our lives.

Jesus is supposed to be our Lord

Have you ever thought about that? Jesus is supposed to be our Lord? Yes, He sure is supposed to be our Lord. But what does that imply about how we are to live? Dodson helps us to think through the implications.

Think, for a moment, about the implications of Jesus’s divine lordship. If Jesus is Lord, then he doesn’t merely rescue sinners from judgment, but he also brings disciples under his divine authority. Translation: when we become Jesus’s disciples, we also become his servants. Disciples are servants who take up their cross and follow him (Luke 9:23). When we turn to Jesus, we turn everything over to him. When we confess Jesus as Lord, we embrace his authority over every aspect of our lives. This is precisely why Bonhoeffer can say: “When Jesus calls a man, he bids him to come and die.”

When Jesus is Lord, we give up on our old life (a sort of death) in order to live a new life. When we put our faith in Jesus as Lord, we surrender self-rule in order to come under God’s wise, gracious, and all-powerful rule. We submit to his reign and join his mission. This life-altering truth forms Jesus’s preface to the Gospel Commission: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matt. 28:18). This new, expansive, awe-inspiring authority orders the life of a disciple to learn the gospel, relate in the gospel, and communicate the gospel in glad submission to King Jesus. As a result, we grow in the gospel as his servants, relate in the gospel as part of his family, and communicate the gospel as his ambassador-missionaries

Challenge

Now that Dodson has set us straight, let me ask a few question:

  • Is Jesus your Lord?
  • Do you submit to His authority over your life?
  • Have you turned everything over to Him, even your life?
  • Have you joined Jesus’ mission?

These are all questions we need to ask ourselves as we consider what it means for Jesus to be the Lord over our life. I pray that you will give them serious thought, knowing Jesus is not just our Savior who rescues us from the bondage of sin and Satan, giving us eternal life, but He is also our Lord. A Lord who calls us to serve Him and His mission here on this earth.

Resources

Jonathan Dodson, Gospel-Centered Discipleship, 42-43.

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