PoWeR SuRGeS Worship Series: Being boosted by God to be His disciples

Bible Readings
Matt 4:18-22
Eph 4:7-16
Matt 18:21-35

Sermon
Today we begin a new worship series focussed on developing as God’s disciples.
Every Christian is called by Jesus to be a disciple.
From the moment you were baptised God was acknowledging that you were now one of His disciples.
A person called to follow him.
To learn from Him.
To grow with Him and other disciples.
Our baptism is the beginning of a new life with God.

In Matthew chapter 4 verse 19 we heard…
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”
Come follow me when you are able to be fishers of men
Or come follow me if you can be fishers of men
But come follow me an I will make you fishers of men.
Jesus’ call to His early disciples highlights that being a disciple is not based on what or who you know,
what you have achieved
or that you have everything in place.
It is based on God calling you and you responding by being loyal to him.
And as a result of this loyalty God continues to mould, change and have an affect on our lives.

As disciples God calls us into a unique and special relationship with Him and others, who are following Him.
He continues to offer us help, to bless us and to develop us.
Unfortunately, not everyone sees being a disciple this way.
At times being a disciple of Jesus is not easy.
There will be troubles.
The scriptures and life’s experiences reveal that from time to time there will be difficulties
However being loyal to Jesus helps us be prepared for these difficulties.
It enables us to be nurtured and cared for throughout our lives.
It helps us experience how God changes something bad into something good for us.
As Jesus says in Matthew 11:28
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
And being a disciple means experiencing Jesus
and being influenced and changed by Jesus.

Our worship series Power Surges is about helping each of us grab hold of 7 tools in our life called marks of discipleship.
God uses these to influence, form, nurture and guide us.

And Underpinning our lives as disciples is the whole area of forgiveness.
Forgiveness is an essential component of any church and every Christian.
I heard a slogan once that is very true of the church.
Our business is forgiveness.
The truth is we are God’s forgiven people and we are God’s forgiving people.
And why is forgiveness so essential?
Because the truth is we live in a world where sin is present.
Matthew 18:21 makes this clear
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Did you notice Peter didn’t ask,
will my brother or sister sin against me, but how many times will I have to forgive.
In other words, how many times do I have to put up with His sinning, and offer forgiveness.
Have you ever asked that question?
How many times do I have to forgive that imbecile, my brother, my sister, the person I thought was a friend?
That’s not only Peter’s question, that is often our question.
Like Peter, we live in a world where sin is a part of life.
And in asking the question we recognise that our lives are not only impacted by people sinning against us,
but also our own sin of not wanting to forgive others.

God’s response to this question is
that He expects us to forgive an infinite number of times,
that is what is meant by Jesus’ response to forgive seventy times seven.
As forgiven people, we are expected to be forgiving people.

But before we go much further it is important to recognise
that forgiveness from a biblical perspective is not about pretending that everything is ok, it recognises sin exists.
Think about it forgiveness is only needed because sin exists.
The forgiveness which Jesus taught asks that we set aside our need for “pay back” or revenge.
But at the same time we can learn from the hurt sin brings.
Biblical forgiveness doesn’t mean that we immediately put ourselves back into a situation to be sinned against over and over again.
In fact, we may make changes to the way things are done to stop sins being repeated and people being hurt.
However, God’s standard is that as His disciples forgiveness is essential.
As forgiven people, we are expected to be forgiving people.
The truth is we are all forgiven sinners.
None of us are perfect.
We all sin.
We are in fact a community of forgiving sinners.

One thing that still surprises me is that paradox of what it means to live in a Christian Church.
On one hand many people expect there to be no conflict in the church.
Yet the truth is we are a community of sinners, so sin will exist.
Yet we allow behaviours that no business or government organisation would tolerate,
as if being nice will make up for everything.
As the Christian Church we have responsibility to deal with sin by forgiving those who sin, but also protecting those who could be sinned against.
Perhaps though this is not a paradox.
Maybe it is because we do not take the bible and our theology seriously.
We are unprepared to be honest about the future
and the conflicts we face.
We get ourselves into major problems when we deny the reality that sin exists in the world, even in the church and even in ourselves.
And we get ourselves into even more trouble when we do not deal with sin with appropriate forgiveness and boundaries.

So lets be a real church.
A church full of forgiven sinners, who recognise that sin exists
And we deal with sin through appropriate forgiveness and appropriate care.
That is Christ’s church in action.
As God’s forgiven people…we are to be God’s forgiving people.

In other words as you have been welcomed by God into His discipleship team,
you are to go about welcoming others.
Welcoming others is an important part of being disciples.
So who are you going to welcome?
Who do you know needs to know they are welcome here?
That God is wanting to forgive them and welcome them?
Is it time to start being proactive?
Be one of the 20% of Christians who invite someone to church.
This whole business of being proactive only makes sense when you realise that
“you have been bought by Jesus”
None of us belong to ourselves.
We are God’s investments.
God has bought us.
1st Corinthians chapter 6 verse 20 says
You were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
And that price is the body and blood of Jesus

But God has not bought us to sit and wait for Him to return.
He calls each of us to be His active disciples
And Ephesians chapter 4 verse 11, along with 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 remind us that each of us have been equipped by God for ministry in the church
and in our daily lives.
Each of us are given gifts, talents, skills, authority and opportunities from God.
as part of His Spiritual investment in the world.

And this investment is for a purpose.
Ephesians chapter 4 verse 12 to 13 tells us we are called to grow one another.
This wisdom from God says
We are gifted to prepare God’s people for works of service,
so that the body of Christ may be built up
until we all reach unity in the faith
and in the knowledge of the Son of God
and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

In other words Jesus death of the cross and God’s gifts to us
is God giving us an important role to play in His investment.
As people who belong to God,
God is calling each one of us not to bless ourselves
but to bless others with our skills and talents, and the gift of forgiveness.
God gives us the privilege of being a gift for others.
Ephesians 4:14 speaks to us about what it means to be a gifted disciple.
Many people with gifts often use them for their own means,
to build their own empire
or they take them for granted
or they aren’t interested in sharing them
or they develop big heads and think they are better than others.
Yet God is calling each of us to use our gifts maturely,
which the scriptures reveal as using them for the benefit of others.
And as Ephesians 4:14 suggests this means being aware of what God is on about.
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
Being mature means living a life that understands we rely on Christ for the future,
and allow ourselves and others be influenced by Him.

Our Power Surges worship series
in focusing on the seven marks of discipleship
help us realise and take hold of the tools that encourage us to develop a real faith that works in a real life.
These Marks of Discipleship are the tools to help us grow further in faith.
They are not demands any more than a screw demands a screwdriver.
Ever had a loose screw?
Every now and again one of the screws in my glasses becomes loose.
Often I will use my fingernail to tighten it.
Occasionally a nail file.
But what works best is a screwdriver of the right size
when I have a screwdriver I don’t even think about using a finger nail or nail file.
Because the screwdriver is the best tool to use.

Like wise in our personal and congregational lives the seven Marks of Discipleship are the best tools to help us engage and remain in relationship with God,
the one who has bought us away from sin controlling us.
God’s active and forgiving love is the basis for every Mark of discipleship.
These Marks of Discipleship help us explore and put into practice
what it means to be forgiven people who live lives forgiving others.

People who have a close and ongoing relationship with God are able to survive the storms of life.
Someone once commented if you live, you will experience the storms of life.
You will be affected by rejection, failure, loss, abuse, natural disasters, bad decisions, lies and the list goes on.
Each of these storms have the potential to destroy us and lead us away from the great future God has prepared for us.
Yet God through Jesus is offering us what is needed to live through the storms of life.
And the Marks of Discipleship help us remain connected to Jesus
so that we have His strength.
They help us become Spiritually mature.
And in doing so we are able to distinguish the truth that comes from God’s wisdom that is focused on the long term
to the wisdom developed by humans that is often focused on pleasing ones self and short term rewards.

And if we truly live out our lives as one of God’s disciples,
not only will we see storms
we will walk right into them.
This is because God is always sending us out into the world,
to our family, our friends, our workplaces and the wider community
to bring change from Christ into the world.
Change that comes from God forgiving you and you forgiving others.

And when we do so we will encounter storms,
because we are moving into a world of people wanting to primarily please themselves
look good
and not wanting to recognize they are involved in sin.
As disciples we will inevitably need to walk against these winds
Living our lives focused on God and serving others.
Living our lives as God’s forgiven people, who are active in forgiving others.

But remember God is with us,
God is wanting to help us move through these winds and bring strength to others.
Remaining connected to Jesus through the Marks of Discipleship will help you do this.
Be the witness, the disciple God is calling you to be.
Be His forgiven sinner, actively seeking to forgive others.
And over the next seven weeks join us in exploring and discovering the Marks of Discipleship
Of Praying daily
Worshipping Weekly
Reading and studying the Bible frequently
Serving in and outside our congregation
Being in Christian Relationships for your own and others benefit
Giving proportionally, regularly and cheerfully
And Sharing the Great News from God
If you can not be here for one week of the series, please contact the office and we will forward you a copy of the sermon and other information
Let’s pray
Amen