The Cost of Discipleship - The Requirements

In this episode we continue our discipleship series with a message titled The Cost of Discipleship, focusing on what God requires in the formation and multiplication of mature believers. Discipleship is not presented as a secondary ministry of the church but as the central mission of making followers of Christ who are grounded in truth and equipped to reproduce spiritual life in others.

This message walks through three foundational qualities that shape every disciple. First, the work of the Spirit of God, who seals believers, reveals truth, and produces spiritual fruit that cannot be manufactured by human effort. Second, the necessity of a teachable heart, marked by humility, surrender to Scripture, and a willingness to be shaped through instruction and correction. Third, the call to faithfulness, where consistency and endurance become the evidence of stewardship in the life of a believer.

Together these truths remind us that discipleship is not built on talent or personality, but on Spirit dependence, humble learning, and steady obedience over time. As the church embraces this calling, God forms believers into mature followers of Christ who are able to strengthen others and carry the gospel forward.

Thanks for listening to the Living Faith St. Louis podcast. This episode is part of our weekly sermon ministry from Pastor Blade Sbisa, with occasional guest speakers and special series.
 For more information, visit the LFSTL website.

Transcript

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From the sermons over the last uh four months into Google Drive, and right now I'm working to get that populated on Spotify and other streaming services, as well as the website. And so apologies for that delay, but also, Lord willing, I'll be able to stay consistent with it. So there's a few messages that were missed, and I just went ahead and uploaded my teaching notes online, and so I'll be able to find a way to get that to you. We worked through the book of Ezra. If there was a particular message or something you wanted to go back and listen to, or if you just wanted to retrospectively do that, that'll be online here in a few weeks. And in the bulletin, I'll make sure to have a link to be able to access those. I'm not going to assume that anybody wants to go back and listen to the sermons, but uh, Lord willing, if you come through a series with us and you miss one, you'll be able to pick up. And for the ladies, especially that are helping with children downstairs, I want to make sure that they have a way to be under the teaching of God's Word, even in their absence. And so this morning we continue our series, as I mentioned just a moment ago, and announcements on discipleship and specifically the cost of discipleship. The first week entering this study, we talked about the question what is discipleship? And we looked at a survey really of the topic in the Bible, and we saw that discipleship is clear. It's a clear command of God, and that's an important thing for us to see out of Matthew 28, right? To go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things, whatsoever I have commanded you, and lo, I'm with you always, even to the end of the world. Jesus gave a clear command to not only teach, but to be teaching all things that he taught. Meaning that it's not enough to just go out and convert people to Christianity, but once they do become babes in Christ or born-again believers, we want to bring them into a process of spiritual maturity. And we saw that this pattern was actually consistent through the whole Old Testament, all the way back to Genesis chapter 1 and the creation of man, God told Adam and Eve, be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it. There were some directives regarding discipleship all the way back then. And I understand there's a physical context in Genesis 1, but as you move through the scripture, you find that in every age and every time, with every key steward, there's a consistent pattern that God wants to play out in the lives of believers. Now, obviously, people in the Old Testament couldn't believe upon the gospel that we understand, the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ according to the scriptures, but they were believing the word of God, and in belief, in faith, God was extending to them grace. Take, for example, Genesis chapter 6 with Noah. It says, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Why? Well, because he believed the command that rain was coming when he had never seen it. He put his faith in something invisible. Then last week, I'm sorry, uh, we saw it was clear, consistent, and consuming that discipleship not only is consistent and clear through the scriptures, but it also should be all consuming of our lives. And then last week we didn't ask what discipleship is, but why it is so important. And we saw that it's first important because of that command. It's an instruction to us. It's an instruction to us. We've been told to do it, therefore it is important because it came from the mouth of God. Secondly, it is what allows us to have strength as a local church to be impactful in our neighborhoods, in this community, in this city, and ultimately all throughout the world. Discipleship is the method by which we become strong enough as a church to reach the whole world for the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ or with the gospel of the Lord. Thirdly, we saw that it insulates the church. It insulates. And we saw that it's protective in that when when I am here, when I'm teaching the word of God, that's important. But when you're also teaching the word and you're strengthening one another, and we are collectively sharpening one another by the word of God, as iron sharpeneth iron, then we have a strength that's actually protective as a local church, so that when wolves come in, when heresy comes into the local church, it's not just me trying to keep everybody safe, but it's all of us collectively saying, No, this is actually what God's word says. So that you don't have to rely on me, but you can be spiritually strong and safe because God's shown you how to be equipped in the word. That's super critical. I never want the strength of this church to be reliant on the pulpit ministry. It ought to be in every moment, in every relationship that we have. So it's instructive. Why is it so important? It's instructed to us, it's impactful, it helps us have a great impact on this world. It insulates the church, and then it allows us to imprint the divine nature of Christ on the next generation. And ultimately, that is what makes discipleship so important. It is what allows the church to continue to do what God's called them to do, not only in one generation, to not have living faith St. Louis, or this church be successful in one generation, but perpetually, so that it always goes in the strength of the Lord and his word. Now, this morning, this is what we're asking. What are the requirements of discipleship? What are the requirements of discipleship? And this isn't a very interesting, I think, question. And I know that I've been one that's poked that have posed it this morning. But we have to really understand what discipleship is to understand its requirements. In some form, discipleship is the broad, overarching category that represents everything that matures a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. But at some point, the church also has to have a structure to bring people into accountability to learn the Word of God and learn how to do ministry. And so discipleship here is that process. And the first requirement I can see in the scripture that I think is absolutely necessary for discipleship is the gift of the Spirit of God. In other words, discipleship is impossible if you aren't saved. You have to have the Spirit of God, and if you aren't yielded to the Spirit and your Christian life. Discipleship is that process of maturing a believer, but on the receiving end of that, right, it is you, it is me learning how to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, learning not only things that are true of God and his word, but also what it means for me to live out that truth. And so I need the Spirit of God for that. The first reason I need the Spirit of God is because the sealing, the sealing of my new identity in Christ is dependent on the Holy Spirit coming in and separating me from my natural fleshly identity. Discipleship's going to require communion. If I, right, it's a it's a relationship with Christ. It is bringing people into an intimate relationship with Christ. And therefore, I must begin that process by having fellowship with him. And the only way I'm going to have fellowship with him and commune with him is if I am able to because of what he's done on my behalf. The Spirit seals us. 2 Corinthians chapter 1. If you can get this cross-reference down, I'm going to be listing here four passages to talk about this idea of the Spirit of God sealing us and the Spirit of God actually searching here in the next point. 2 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 22. It says, who hath also sealed us and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. Who hath also sealed us. Okay, so you found that. Now I'm going to bring you to Ephesians 1. Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 13. And whom also ye have trusted. After that ye heard the word of truth. This is referring to believers trusting in Jesus. In whom ye also trusted after ye heard the word of truth, Ephesians 1 13, the gospel of your salvation. In whom also after ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. Again, one of the major functions of the gift of the Holy Spirit is coming in and sealing you, giving you the opportunity to be secured in Christ. And you're going to need that as a disciple. As you go to follow the Lord, you're going to fail. And I'm going to fail in the flesh. We always fail. There's nothing in us. Paul says in Romans chapter 7, there's no good thing in me. For that is in me, in my flesh, there dwelleth no good thing. He said, It is no more I that sinneth, but sin that dwelleth in me. His point is that he has a new identity spiritually, but he still lives in a body of death. And so in that body of death, you're going to fail. You and I constantly fail God in the flesh. But in our new man, if we learn how to walk in the spirit, we can serve him in newness of life. And so, why what are the requirements of discipleship? The first is the gift of the Spirit because it seals us unto that day of redemption. Philippians chapter 2 and verses 12 through 13, it says, Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not only in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Again, that's Philippians chapter 2 and verses 12 through 13. Paul tells the Philippians, that Christian church in Philippi, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. He is not teaching you have to work for your salvation, but that if you're saved, you need it worked out. You need to exercise it in fear and trembling before God, realizing that you have been given the gift of life and the death of Christ, you now have to take that salvation and work it out of you. You need to do the sobering work of saying, God, am I truly saved? Before you trembling, Lord, if you have given me this wonderful gift of life, am I using that spirit, that power that you've given me to actually live for you? It goes on in 13 of Philippians 2, for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. The way in which we work out our salvation is we come back to the very same attitude that we had at salvation. Lord, except you give me a willingness to obey you, and you do it, I will not perform the things that you've called me to be obedient to. And so, likewise, in the Christian life, the only way I'm going to obey God is through the gift of grace. And it is God's grace that actually motivates me and propels me into my service for Christ. My point to you this morning is that you need to be saved. That's what is the initial requirement for discipleship. You have to be sealed by the Spirit. And one of the ways that you figure out how you're saved or not is as you look at your life and you examine the fruit. You know, Jesus said, by their fruit you shall know them. So you look at your life, you think, Lord, am I someone who's representing you? And then you have to think, okay, if I'm not, why? Is it because I'm rebellious against the gift you've given me in salvation, or is it because I don't know you? I've never actually come to the place where I've repented of my sin and turned to you and trusted and called out and received the gift of salvation. I've never been born again. Lord, help me know what that means. Okay, Romans chapter 8, just to affirm this point. Romans chapter 8 and verse 9. Romans chapter 8 and verse 9, and then all the way through 27. Maybe turn there. Okay, this is a longer section. I'm going to be hopping through some verses. I just want you to see the Spirit's power and the Spirit's work on behalf of the Christian and the disciple. You, you and I have been given a spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba Father. And if we are now the sons of God, the Bible says we are now led of the Spirit of God. Look at with me. Romans chapter 8, starting in verse 9, it says, But ye are not in the flesh. That is something we will talk about out of this series. The condition of God moving you from being in Adam to in Christ. This is actually an identity change. But ye are not in the flesh. That is, if you're saved. But in the spirit. If so be that the spirit of God dwell in you. There's the condition of your salvation. Ye're not in the flesh, you're not in Adam, but in the Spirit, in the Spirit of Christ, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. That should be your question this morning. Does the Spirit of God dwell in me? Now, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he or she is none of his. There it is. The requirement for the Spirit to be in relationship or communion with God. Look at now verse 13 through 15. Verses 13 through 15. Romans 8, 13, it says, For if we live after the flesh, see, there's a difference between being in the flesh versus living after the flesh. You can be in the spirit, but living after the flesh, ye shall die. You have a new identity, but you're living like the old man. But if ye through the spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. See, the spirit is a requirement for discipleship, because it is the only power in the universe that's going to allow you the ability to mortify the deeds of your body, and then also walk in that resurrected life. Look at verse 14. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. How am I a disciple? The word literally translating to follower. How am I a follower of God, being led by the Spirit of God, if I don't have the Spirit of God? I know this is simple math, but it's important to consider. There's a lot of people who want to follow God, but they're atheists. Because they've never actually trusted the gospel that is saving. They've trusted a gospel of works. Look at verse 15 now. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear. That is the spirit of the law. That's what he's been talking about for three chapters. But ye have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba Father. This is the same spirit of liberty that allows you to stand fast in the spirit that God's given. Okay, now, now 26 through 27. Romans chapter 8, 26 through 27. Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities. Thank you, Lord. I am thankful that one of the functions of the Spirit is to comfort us and to help us in our infirmities. For we know not what we should pray as we ought. Anybody ever find themselves in a place of life like that? Yeah, me too. There are times in life you just look at a situation and you think, I do not have words to give to God, but I know I need to pray. It is the Spirit in you, bearing witness with your spirit that you're a child of God, and crying out, standing on your behalf as a mediator to the Father. But the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us, the text says, with cronings which cannot be uttered. Verse 27, and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what uh is the mind of the spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. You know, a lot of times we pray, and God doesn't answer because our prayers aren't according to his will. And so the spirit bridges that gap between our misunderstandings of God's will and our right desires and what God truly wants. And uh God answers prayer because of the Spirit He's given. Okay, a requirement for discipleship. The Spirit of God, because the Spirit seals and leads us, and we need the Spirit to continue to bring us in to a relationship with God that we might live, as Romans 8 says, and live according to the new identity that we have. But also searching, we need the Spirit of God not only to seal us, but we need it for searching. Because searching's required for our understanding of God's word and even ourselves. Moreover, with the Spirit, we are unable, without the Spirit, we are unable to come to proper conclusions about God's word. Okay, so another long, longer section of Scripture. 1 Corinthians chapter 2. 1 Corinthians chapter 2, the next book over, and the second chapter, starting in verse 9. We need the spirit for communion. We need the spirit for understanding, understanding ourselves, but understanding things which are spiritual. Alright. Verse 9, 1 Corinthians chapter 2, but as it is written, I hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his spirit. For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man can knoweth the things of a man save the spirit of a man which is in him? Even so, the things of God knoweth no man, but the spirit of God. So how are you going to be a learner of Christ if the only person that knows God is God Himself? It means that God's going to have to give you access to his divine wisdom if you're going to get it. Chapter 2 and verse 12 now. Now we have received not the spirit of this world, not a spirit of bondage, Romans 8. Also, we do not have a spirit of fear, 1 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 7. We also do not have a spirit of this world, but the spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. John chapter 6 and verse 63, we learn that the word of God is spiritual. Thy word, my Jesus says to his disciples, My words are spirit and they are life. And so the Holy Ghost is given to us to cons to compare those spiritual words. We we reference the Bible and we go back and forth seeing how God uses words, and it is as we can uh in comparing them that we learn and we are taught of the Holy Ghost. Verse 14, but the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him. Neither can he know them, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. One of the requirements to continue to grow and be matured in your relationship with Jesus Christ is the Spirit of God, because you have to be saved. Otherwise you are none of his. But you also need the Spirit to search out the deep things of God, because you cannot discern the Bible, which is a spiritual book, because the natural mind is unable to do that without the Spirit of God. You hear the point? You and I need the Spirit on a daily basis. And what that means as Christians is that even if you are saved and you have the Spirit, you and I should not grieve the Spirit of God. We should not quench the Spirit, as 1 Thessalonians says, but we ought to surrender to the Spirit. Because the Spirit is the only thing that allows us to be reproductive. And I want you to hear that point. The Spirit is the only thing that can be allowing us to reproduce the life that God has given. The flesh can only manifest what is already broken and corrupt, but the spirit bears fruit. And errant to fruit, this description in Galatians 5, which we'll read here in a moment, fruit has seeds. God has designed fruit from Genesis chapter 1 to give us a picture of what his Holy Spirit ought to be doing in our lives. It should be the thing reproducing life in others. Your flesh, once again, can only manifest things, but the fruit of the Spirit ought to be multiplied all throughout the world in Christians. And so look at with me Galatians chapter 5 and verses 19 through 23. Galatians chapter 5 and verses 19 through 23. Again, I just want you to hear the point. We have to surrender or yield to the Spirit of God as a requirement in discipleship because the Spirit's the only thing that's going to give us, if I can call it this, functional life to be able to serve and walk in newness of spirit. Galatians chapter 5 and verse 19, it says, Now the works of the flesh are manifest. It doesn't say the fruit of the flesh. The works of the flesh are manifest. It's just what's shown. It's what's there. There's a deadness there. There's no life. There's no a potential energy there for fruit bearing. It says, which are these? Adultery, fornication, uncleanliness, lasciviousness, which is like exaggerated sexual desire or want. Verse 20, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variants, emulations, wrath, strifes, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like. Verse 22, but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Against such there is no law. In other words, there's no law that God has given or will ever give that would contradict these qualities in the believer. He's not asking you to do anything that would be against these things. This is the fullness of everything he intends the Christian to be in. The only way you and I are going to represent or have these things coming as a fountain from our life is if we are yielded to the Spirit of God. Okay, so first requirement of discipleship: the Spirit of God. Foresealing for the Spirit to also search, and for us to surrender to it. And the way I think we surrender to the Spirit is through a humble and teachable heart. And so that's what I see as the second requirement. And I understand in a topic like this, there's probably a list of a hundred things we could look at in the Bible and say, this appears to be a requirement of discipleship. But I really just have three for you this morning. The first is the Spirit of God, you've got to be saved. But secondly, you have to have a humble heart if you want the Spirit to go to work in your life. You and I have to be teachable. We have to remain in a place where we're able to receive the grace of God. And God says he resisteth the proud, but gives grace to the humble. And so the way that we're going to learn of God is if we're, you know, quieting ourselves and listening for what he has to say according to his truth. Discipleship is going to require that you let the word of God transform your heart and mind. What comes to mind here is Colossians chapter 3 and verse 16, which says, Let the word of Christ dwell in your hearts richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, giving thanks in your heart. We have to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly. Otherwise, the flesh doesn't want it. In and of our natural being, we don't desire to maintain the truth of God. We would rather kind of do our thing. But we have to actually allow God's word to transform us. And so what's that going to take? I think a teachable heart and mind. We have to remain humble with one another. So, yes, we have to have knowledge. People perish for lack of knowledge. But one of the core elements that makes a disciple is their willingness to listen and learn. It's in the name itself, right? Disciple means, as I've mentioned already, learner or follower. To be a learner, you have to at some point listen. And so now, more broadly speaking, I want to talk to you about this point of teachability because it really drives an overarching thought. And this is what you have on your bulletin on the back. It says discipleship, which is that process of maturing a believer, is not a program, but there should be still a structure that can be used to reproduce a spiritual life in the local church. Okay, so just think with me for a moment. I have to drill down as hard as I possibly can this truth. Discipleship is not a program. It is not a booklet. It is not a classroom. It is not meeting up and transferring information. It is that methodology of maturing believers over time in every area of life. Do you hear that point? That is the most important thing you need to consider when you think about discipleship. It's like what Jesus did with his disciples. Walked with them, lived with them, ate with them, talked with them, corrected them, strengthened them, laughed with them, even though we don't see that, I'm sure he did. Cried with them, led them into ministry, every aspect of life. Right? That's discipleship. But at some point in a local church, you have to find a structure to be able to transfer information to people so that they can have a foundation to build upon. And so that's what I want to talk to you about right now. Is what is the process that personally I'm trusting God to use to grow people up in the Lord, to strengthen them according to the Word of God, to live a life that's worshipful before God, but then also to do the work of God all throughout the world. What is that? That is the function of what I want to talk to you about now. And so while it's not a program, at some point there has to be enough structure so that not only I'm teaching it, but that we all are. And the best way I think of structure in that, by way of illustration that's been given to me, is a trellis. A trellis is a structure that's fixed, but on that structure the vines have liberty to move about and grow fruit. Right? Actually, a lot of vines will die without it. And so you set up a structure that may feel like constraint, but it's actually the very thing that's giving the, in our illustration, the church life and the ability to bear fruit. And so that structure is in front of you. That structure is in front of you. You can see uh kind of three major stages of uh equipping that I want to uh bring the church into over time. At some level, this church, Lord willing, over time, will maintain a life that is worshipful, that is bound to one another. We love each other, we spend time with one another, we understand each other's needs and what we're worried about and what we need to pray for one another about, and we're we're on mission together, we're bound in that way. But we we are also equipped, we're learning doctrine, and then we're in we're engaging the world. And so, in a preacher-type way, I could say you ought to enjoy God and exalt Him. And you have to come and be a part of Sunday services so that you can be edified and edify one another. And then you need an area of the local church to equip you. Now, Lord willing, that's happening at some level through the pulpit ministry, but it I don't think this is enough. I think we have to have other areas of ministry that are getting people strengthened in the Word of God. And then lastly, there have to there have to be clear avenues for the work to get accomplished. That is the work of reconciliation. Not just events and carnivals and things to gather a bunch of people together, um, but the very work of seeing people's lives transformed through the gospel. And so enjoy God, be edified through the church and with one another, be equipped, that's what I want to talk to you about here in a moment, and then also learning to engage the lost world. This is what the church has to be about. I want to talk to you about this path of growth that Lord willing will see unfold over the next decade of this church plant, if the Lord would have something to be established, which I think he's doing. And the first step of this path of growth is what I want to refer to as foundations, foundations, or foundation as you see on your bulletin. Within this kind of first stage of spiritual development, there are some core doctrines that have to be learned and understood so that you can build a spiritual life upon that. And you can see those outlined there in front of you. We all have to understand salvation and eternal security. Like you are not going to be a good minister of the gospel of the Lord Jesus if you don't have security in your salvation. And when you preach hope to this world, there'll be some hesitancy because your hope actually isn't fixed in the resurrected Christ. It's in some imagination that you have that God possibly might, because of his goodness, let you in. You have to also understand like, what does God intend for the ordinances in the church? And you can see the list there in front of you. What's the Holy Spirit supposed to do in my life? We talked about some of those things today. What about the Word of God? How should we think about it according to the Word? And prayer, what is that? What are the five major types of prayers that I can have as a Christian? How should I pray? What does God say prayer is and what it is not? Is an Our Father and a Hail Mary the way that God intended it? And on and on. I mean, do I have to get down on my bedside and do the sign of a cross and on and on? What does prayer look like and liberty in Christ and what it means to stand before the judgment seat of Christ and do the mission in my workplace? The second stage, after kind of this first stage of seeing this foundation laid, which, again, Lord willing, will happen in the next year, two years through the church, is formation. I'll refer to this as F2 and F3. And this would be more of a classroom setting. Again, discipleship is not a classroom, but at some point, information's got to be transferred. You hear that point? I've got to find a way to equip the church in the Word of God. And so, in the second stage of discipleship, uh we find kind of two semesters that'll play out where I'll be walking through other doctrines like character qualities of a man or woman of God, how to fight spiritual battles, the stages of spiritual growth as outlined in Israel's history, covenantal and dispensational theology, how for you know, how you learn to become a disciple or discipler. That should say discipler. How to study the Bible, basic principles of hermeneutics, and that is to say, like, what are the principles that are our guardrails as we go to study God's Word? And we multiply Bible studies throughout the city, and you open up your living room for a Bible study to be hosted so the gospel can be multiplied in another area of town. Um, all these things, right? That's that's formation. I want to refer to it that way, F2 and F3. And then lastly, you can see just an ongoing process of continual learning for every member to grow as a leader. Leadership in the church is not me. The pastor's role is important, and Lord willing, over time, we'll have more than one pastor. But leadership ought to take hold and root in your life. And everyone in this room, I think at some level, the Lord wants you to be a key leader of this church. Over time, as you grow in the word, he would allow you to invest in another person, and you would learn, begin to learn, leadership principles, and God would use you in that way. I mean, what an amazing gift and privilege and invitation we have to invest our lives into other people. It's a simple thought, but here it is. Your Christian life isn't supposed to be about you. And I remember when that finally clicked for me. Oh, God doesn't just want a relationship with me, He is giving me the opportunity to partner with Him to bring as many people in as possible so that they can also know the goodness, the love, the justice, the mercy of God. Man, I want that. I hope you want that. I hope you desire for God to use you in that way. So, lastly, here you can see a long list of topics to be discussed in this last section or last part of a path of growth, and that is what I want to refer to as fortification. The process by which this church builds a wall of protection. LFBI, the Living Faith Bible Institute, is one that will be hosted here in the building, but also one that is a partnership with other local churches scattered throughout the world where other pastors and professors will actually be able to declare the truth of God at a deeper level when ultimately our capacity, like there's no way I have capacity to teach all of these topics, but there are guys who have spent 20 some years of their life, 40 some years of their life, studying church history. You know, studying about manuscript evidence and why we hold to the preservation of the text. And the book of Acts, the book of Matthew, the book of Hebrews. It's like, yes, I intend to teach as many of these as possible, but uh, Lord willing, over time, we'll be able to leverage a lot of churches that we're connected with to uh continue to learn and grow. Uh it's not required. Everyone here, nobody's required to go through this. It's an invitation to say, do you want to know God? Do you want to learn of him? Do you want to continue to grow in wisdom and grace? Uh to commune with him? Well, here's a process. And maybe some of these topics sound really intriguing to you, and uh, they should. There should be something in you that says, Man, I want to learn about uh the end times in Daniel and Revelation. And I want to learn about how God has a pattern or framework of sevens all throughout the scripture. Seven baptisms described through the Bible, seven feasts of Israel, and how they actually, in the springtime and fall time, show this first and second coming of Christ. I want to learn about hermeneutics. Again, how to study the Bible on a deeper level. I want that for me. I want to be a Berean, as the book of Acts says, who are more noble than those in Thessalonica who received the Word of God with thanksgiving and studied it. I mean, I want these things, and I want these things for you. The Bible is a really exciting book once you see it open, and you think, oh man, I get to learn of God and everything he intends. And so there it is in front of you. Consider those things. Ask me any questions you want. Uh outside of uh you know the pulpit, I am an open book. I will gladly talk to you about anything at any time unless it's like 3 a.m. Got it? You can call me at 2 a.m., I'll probably pick up. I'm a late night guy. Uh but just, okay, 3.30, don't do it. Don't do it. I might be up because of the boys, but uh anyway. If a tragedy comes up, call me at 3 a.m. I'll do my best to pick up. 1 Corinthians chapter 4 and verses 1 through 2. It says, let a man sow account of us as ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. There's seven mysteries in the Bible that you and I are called, that you and I are called to be stewards of. Again, that's that's 1 Corinthians chapter 4 and verses 1 through 2. The Bible tells you about seven mysteries that you're called to be a steward of. And you're gonna give an account of this at the judgment seat of Christ. How you serve God according to these mysteries. And uh I understand that that's a foreign concept right now, but um, they're very important. In 1 Corinthians 4 and verse 2 it says, moreover, it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful. So, what is the last requirement that I want to talk to you about regarding what it's gonna take for you and I to become continual learners of Christ, disciples of Christ, faithfulness. That's the ultimate requirement or prerequisite of discipleship. Remember, kind of our quintessential verse in 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 2, you know, the apostle Paul is writing to his son in the faith, Timothy. He says, Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and the things which thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to really intelligent people who shall be able to teach you also. Is that what it says? You guys know the verse? The same commit thou to really impressive individuals, the same commit thou to people who simply show up all the time, who have a certain paycheck, who no, the Bible doesn't say that. The Bible says, the same commit thou to faithful men. And obviously I'll interject here women, right? We we learned that in the book of Titus, in Titus chapter 2, God intends the older women to invest in the younger. There's a process of spiritual development whereby young babes in Christ become spiritual fathers and mothers pouring their life into other people. Verse 3 it says, Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. This process of investing in faithful men and faithful women is going to require the endurance that a soldier has as he enters into war. It's difficult. I mean, just think about the juxtaposition of those ideas as Paul writes to Timothy. Hey, I want you to just teach the next generation. Specifically, I want you to teach faithful men who shall be able to teach others also. The very next thing, thou therefore endure hardness. Okay, cool, I got that. As a good soldier of Jesus Christ, maybe some of you are connected to soldiers, have family members that are neighbors, you know the hardness of the task of going to war. You've seen it. Maybe your husbands did. Maybe you've been really close to that, and you have a special insight into the type of hardness that's needed for spiritual battles as well. And there's actually a giant list in 2 Timothy chapter 2. Talking about a soldier wasn't enough. He goes on to talk about a gardener. He goes on to talk about a runner. He goes on to talk about a long list there. I'm my mind's blanket. Nonetheless, you can check it out for yourself and learn what it means to have a hard mind or face set like a flint regarding this work. And so just be aware, this isn't an easy task. Why? Proverbs chapter 20 and verse 6. Most men will proclaim everyone his own goodness, but a faithful man who can find. You know why it's going to take some hardness? It's because most people aren't teachable. Most people proclaim their own goodness. Most people think they don't need to be invested in. Most people think they know enough about Jesus to learn from him. God forbid. Even in my own life, I must always be in a position of humility before God, saying, Lord, teach me more about the Father. Teach me more about prayer. Teach me more about How the local church is supposed to be run. Teach me. None of us have arrived, and there are plenty of questions on the table. And so we have to be hardened for the task of enduring to invest in faithful men because most men are proclaiming their own goodness. Alright. I just want to say now that this character quality alone, as we go to search for it in other people, ought to provoke us as well to be faithful, to grow and to follow and to learn of God. And I want to just express to you the difference between appearing and attending to something. Faithfulness is not just showing up consistently, it's attending to the things of God that He wants you to attend to. Meaning, think about a classroom. It's probably a poor illustration. But just because you enter the classroom doesn't mean you're actually there to learn. And I'm not talking about information, I'm talking about everything that it might entail. Showing up is not enough. You showing up to work is not enough. Now your boss may appreciate that. But if you show up to work and you never do your job, attendance doesn't matter. Attendance is required for you to do the job. And so, you know, caring whether or not people are with us is something that's important to me because I know that it's directly related to their ability to grow in Christ. But I don't care if you show up. If you're a part of the core group, if you're a part of Bible study, if you miss a Sunday or two, you know, who cares? I don't care. I want you to know the Lord. I want you to walk with Him, grow, experience how wonderful a life is with Jesus and walking with Him. And I want you to attend to His word and just consider what it might do if you were to yield to it. Faithful men are hard to find, but the blessing is that God can find them and empower them even when they aren't. And so we ought to have a heart like God to extend mercy and patience towards people as they try to take a step forward. Lord willing, over time, God's going to give us some 20, 30, 50, some hundredfold. I'd love some hundredfold fruit. And you know what? This church is going to need to be strong enough to invest. And uh we're going to find some people who want to serve God, but they're not faithful. And we have to, like Christ, give mercy and enable and count people faithful even when they aren't. This is what Paul told Timothy. 1 Timothy chapter 1, the chapter prior to this. Verses 12 through 13, he says, And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for he uh counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, who was before a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious, but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly and in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. There are going to be some people who show up who aren't able. You know what we're gonna have to do? Help enable them for the work. There are gonna be some people who show up that are unfaithful. You know what we're gonna have to do? Count them faithful when they weren't? Paul was. I'm thankful that the Lord counted Paul faithful when he was a blasphemer and a persecutor of the church. I'm thankful that the Lord put him into ministry. You know what we're gonna have to do when it's difficult? Put people into positions of leadership when they're not ready and then walk with them and help them understand what it means to do that. Over time, better and better, according to what God intends. Church playing's hard, do you know that? I mean it's it's gonna be tough, but I am excited for this work, and I'm excited that God would give us uh just some new faces and fruit, uh that we would learn how to just grow strong to love the next generation. And so, to me and you, this begs the question: if God was willing to entrust Saul of Tarsus with the work of discipleship, why aren't we also willing to show mercy to those that could seem like unlikely candidates? Let's just trust the Lord to meet someone, see them come through the doors, and then walk with them until they know how to follow Christ. I'm sad. There's a lady that was in here when we started, that left during the middle of service. Who knows why? But I pray that the Lord would give us an opportunity to invest in her no matter her story. We should be faithful, we we ought to invest in faithful men and women, but we also must trust God to see his grace empower people to be faithful when they fail. Matthew 25 and verse 21, the Lord said to his disciples, I'm sorry, this is a parable, the Lord's speaking, and referring to that steward, he says, His Lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over few things, I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of the Lord. Faithfulness begins with little things. We're not asking people to be the Apostle John the first day they walk in. Or some key ministry leader. We're just asking them to be faithful. Hey, can you come in and set up the coffee and set out the food every Sunday? We'll purchase it for you. Just need you to be here on time, set it up, and we'll pray together. Little task, and then, oh, sure enough, over a six-month period, this guy was about it. He showed up every every time and was faithful to this task. And you know what? We're gonna hand him a little bit more and a little bit more, and over time, maybe that guy will be the children's ministry director. God is not gonna look at any of us at the end of our life and say, Well done, thou fruitful and good servant. Well done, thou good and intelligent servant. Well done, thou good and strong, good and spotless, good and faithful. It just requires faithfulness. God's not impressed with us, even if we were. I mean, he's God. And I know that's an obvious thought, but one that we should maintain in our thinking, that we would remain humble before Him and others. It is the grace of God that will give us the power that we need to invest in the next generation. Now, for sake of time, I want to close this morning with a section of content that I've pulled from a cost of discipleship series my pastor did a few years ago on a midweek service. This is uh some content from Dan Renault, my father and the Lord. And what he did was just walked through different ways that the word disciple is used in the Bible, and then the literal word disciple, and then just synthesized all the ways the word is used and the circumstances or the character qualities that surround the men or women that were associated with this word, and he gave them just as bullet points to give a fair representation of the men that God chose, their strengths, their weaknesses, their responsibilities, and their privileges. You hear the point? When we look through the scripture and we consider the way that the word disciple is used, which most often comes up in the Gospels, what are all the descriptions that we could find regarding what Jesus saw as a disciple? Okay, so let's begin. Disciples often have other plans. You think about that in Luke 14. Suffer me to bury my father first. Suffer me to go purchase this field and look out, I'm sorry, look out on this field that I have purchased. They have other plans. Disciples are seen following Christ. Many times disciples are fearful. They were heard in the ship crying out, Lord, save us, we perish, even though God said Jesus said to them, We would meet on the other side. We're going yonder. They were given the opportunity to dine with Jesus, to spend time with him and eat with him. They were empowered for the work. They are to be like their master. Disciples are given commands. Jesus let them learn things in the multitudes, but also he taught them things the multitudes couldn't receive. They are sent out into the world to accomplish the plan of God. Disciples are given tasks of God. They're given a mission, they're given purpose. They are accused of by the world. The Pharisees had much to say about the disciples that were doing unlawful things. This world will also be against you if you become not only a believer, but a disciple of the Lord. Disciples want to be taught. Teach us the parables, they say to the Lord. Lord, teach us to pray. They asked the Lord Jesus. They participate in the work, they are not bystanders. Disciples saw miracles happen. Wow. God needs to fix his car. Believers hear about miracles. Disciples experienced them firsthand. You hear that point? Believers hear about miracles, disciples experienced them firsthand. I mean, the multitudes heard and consented that they had heard rumor of a guy that had been walking through the land doing some things. The disciples, those that intimately walked with Christ, got to see the hand of God move in their very lives. Do you know that the Pharisees were often defended by what they were saying? And how often do we do this with Christ? The disciples heard the murmuring that others had towards Christ's words. And unfortunately, some of those disciples stopped following or became obedient to the gods of their belly. Disciples frequently don't understand how God is going to accomplish his work. That point encourages me, y'all. Disciples often or frequently don't understand how God is going to accomplish his work. Maybe that's you. You doubt how God's going to see a church established here, whatever it might be. You doubt God's going to move in your family members' life, your kids' lives. Well, that's okay. Just remember it. If you keep following, you're going to see the hand of God continue to move in other ways that might encourage your heart more. The disciples were heard again murmuring, the murmuring at Christ's words. They were frequently misunderstanding of, or had misunderstandings of what God was trying to accomplish. You know, with the multitude, there was a lot of clamoring over Jesus. You think about the woman with the issue of the blood and his garment. They say, wait, wait, you're asking who touched me? You're asking who touched me? They say, how can we feed all of these people? We don't have enough food. They doubted how things were going to get accomplished. Disciples are asked questions by the master. You know, God's going to give you over time some hard questions if you keep following him. Why is there so much suffering in the world? Why did this closest family member get cancer? Why'd they die so young? How do I serve this community around me? Would I consider moving my life to a foreign land to be a missionary? Sometimes disciples get hard questions. Disciples learn of the personal details regarding their Savior. Some get to lay their ear on his chest and hear his heartbeat. Disciples often don't understand prophecy, but they're willing to ask about it. I'm encouraged by that. You ever read something in the Bible, you think, I know this is important, but I don't know what I'm reading. Yeah, me too. Disciples struggle in ministry. Some of them couldn't cast out demons, even though God told them they could. Disciples are rebuked at times. Peter was called Satan. Not a good day. If you're going to follow the Lord, there might be times in your life when God's word is going to confront you or another believer is going to confront you and say, hey, your life. I know you're trying to grow, and I want to hold you accountable. Your life is not lining up with the life God intends you to live. And that's going to hurt. Disciples are competitive. Surprise, surprise. I can hear my pastor's words here as I quote him. Disciples don't understand. At times they are even astonished at Christ's words. Disciples are focused on physical things. They're asking Jesus about the temple and the stones there. Their eyes were often turned to the wrong things, and yet God continued to walk with them and call them forward and help help them have understanding according to the truth. Disciples were also called apostles. That's Luke 6 and verse 13. They were called to go and be sent out. Disciples rebuke children wrongfully. How often are we sharp with younger believers when God desires to give grace and fellowship instead? Now bid, you remember Christ's words, no bid them to come to me. And he actually makes it a teaching point. Sometimes we're going to have the kids, we're not going to be able to control them. And somebody might give them a harsh word. And that would be inappropriate. Maybe sometimes they need the harsh word, I get that point. But listen, it's okay for us to have a messy crib for a while. It's going to be okay for us to show grace with one another as we see this thing grow. It's like any other household. 1 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 15, we learn that the church of God is likened to a household. And if you've seen a household when it's getting started, I'm just telling you it's messy. Braden, can you attest? Yeah, we we cleaned our house up this morning, and I tell you what, it was messy. Toys everywhere, and I'm thankful for it. But sometimes it gets crazy, and we need some order up in the house. And that'll be true here as well. Disciples serve the Lord. They were told what to do. They receive of the Lord. He feeds them at the Lord's Supper. He breaks himself for them. They follow him from a distance even when they were called to be near. They abandon him. They make big promises they don't keep. Like Peter. I'll follow you even to death, will you? You're following afar off, Peter. You're warming yourself by the fire, and you denied a little damsel who asked you if you were one of his disciples. They are rebuked for not praying. Can you not pray with me? One hour? Matthew 26 and verse 57. They all forsake their master. Peter denies him three times. Some of them are fearful of what people think. They're people pleasers. And disciples also struggle to believe. And I give you that long list to say this. A requirement of discipleship is that you are faithful. Not awesome. Not super intelligent, not spotless, not perfect, but you're just willing to be faithful, even when things get hard, even when you're the thing that's hard. God just wants you to continue in the things which thou hast learned and been assured of. And then that you would take those things you've learned and give them to the next generation. You'd constantly and daily be quick to yield your life to the Spirit of God. Alright, that is our message in closing. I want to just reiterate the three requirements that I can see in the scripture. And that is the Spirit of God, you need to be saved. Otherwise, you're none of His. A teachable heart, you need to be surrendered to the Lord and allow His spirit to work in your life. And if you are stubborn, rebellious, proud, then God can't give you more grace. He's going to resist you. And then lastly, a requirement for discipleship is faithfulness. Moreover, it is required that stewards be found faithful. And those are the very same people that we ought to invest in and trust the Lord to show up through our doors. Sometimes, though, they aren't going to be that, and we have to extend grace and mercy and enable them when they're unable, count them faithful when they're not faithful, and put them into positions of authority even when we think they're not ready. I'm not ready for this role. I think you know that. I definitely know that. There's no role or calling that God ever has on your life that you should feel ready for. Because in the flesh you can provide nothing. But in his spirit, you have everything you need, and you have the sufficiency of his grace for every task at hand. Let's pray and let's close this morning with an Hymn. I want to just say here as we close that if you've never been born again, if you've never received the Spirit, and you're none of His, I want you to know that you can turn and have a new identity in Christ, and you can be saved by believing upon the gospel. That is, you believe that your sin was completely taken care of and dealt with in the person of God Himself in Christ on the cross. And if you're willing to believe that your sin and the judgment you deserve was taken on God, and that your sin was buried, and that the life being offered to you is given in his resurrection, the Bible says that if you're willing to believe that in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and that he's risen from the dead, the Bible says, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth, but with the mouth profession is made unto salvation. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. It's as easy as that. If it was by any other means God died in vain, if you could get to heaven by your good works or your good deeds, then Jesus is dead in vain. He came for no reason. But we know that's not true. Historically, he came, he lived a perfect life, he died, he was buried, he rose again, and now you have to consider who is hanging there for me and what does that mean for my soul. The Bible says if you're willing to, in simplicity, believe that message, you can be translated from your condition in Adam, dead in your sins, and this morning, you can be made alive in Jesus. You can receive the Spirit, uh the Spirit of God that seals you unto the day of redemption. And so if you've never done that, if you've never believed in your heart, I'm inviting you to do that even now when we pray. And I just ask that you would tell somebody uh that you've believed upon that gospel message if so.