The Life of An Apprentice | September 1, 2024

Well, good

morning everyone.

It's so good to

be with you here

this morning.

I was, uh, just this

weekend we saw some

friends from college

and spent the weekend

with them and we had

this planned and I

didn't think ahead

of time when I told,

I asked Andy to

preach this weekend

'cause I, uh, there

was something that

God had laid on my

heart and I did not

think it through that

I was gonna be with

friends this weekend.

So kinda had

a long night.

Um, but it was, it was

interesting talking

to my friend, uh, or

some of my friends.

One of 'em was talking

to me about like.

He was like, man,

I don't, I don't

know how you could,

how you do the

job that you do.

I could never

do that job.

And, and then having

conversation talking

about like, speaking

in public and how

much they just

could not do that.

And, and it's funny

because I don't

think, I definitely

never thought I

could do that.

Um, I mean, I was

always a shy kid.

I did not like

speaking in public.

And, and I still

honestly don't think

I can do this job

if, I mean, if I'm

being honest in the

sense of what my

beliefs are on myself.

Um, and, and maybe

you don't know this,

I've, I'm, maybe I've

shared this before.

Um, uh, but I was

not, I definitely

did not grow up

a pastor's kid.

I did not, um, grow

up thinking ministry

was something I

wanted to pursue.

Um, in fact, uh, I,

I got called into

ministry at 19 and

at that time I was

in college studying

architecture.

Um, that was complete

different trajectory

for my life.

Um, and so.

And, and not just

even where I was

academically,

but just where I

was spiritually.

It was, it was not

something that was for

my life was ministry.

And, and so it's

interesting when you

said that, 'cause

I was like, well, I

also don't think I am.

I can be a pastor.

Um, and even today

I'm really only

here because God has

called me to this, not

because I think I am

someone who is worthy

or good enough to do

this job, but being

an architecture major

there, there that one

year of architecture

school, um, there

are some things

that I remember.

Uh, and, and one

of the, there's a

concept in, at and at

the time I actually

didn't really know

about this concept,

but what's called

Good Heart's Law.

Um, good Heart was

actually an economist.

Uh, it doesn't,

this doesn't really

necessarily have to

do with architecture,

but good heart's

law is something

that really, once

I, I heard about it.

I see it all over

the world now.

Um, and just every

aspect of life and,

uh, architecture is

something where I, I.

I can remember talking

about this in a class.

Um, and, and it's just

something that's kind

of stuck out to me,

but the law is when

a measure becomes a

target, it ceases to

be a good measure.

And I'll go

further on that.

For instance, in

architecture where

I see this, um, and

there's, there's a,

an organization, um,

where it's called

lead, LEED, capitals.

Um, and the concept

of, of LEAD is that

when people are

designing buildings,

especially big

buildings, they

want to have lead

certification.

And you get lead

certification by

basically how, um,

how green, for lack

of better term is

your building can

be, um, how, how good

you are at, you know,

kind of the three

Rs, like reduce,

recycle, reuse,

uh, how well your

building is, is good

for the environment,

how well it's not

overtaxing on things.

And this

organization exists.

They'll give you

different ratings.

Whether you get

a, you have a plat

platinum lead rating

or you have a silver

or gold, there's

different objectives

that you can get, get

a higher lead value.

And so designers

will build buildings

to do this and why

they're motivated to

do it, and especially

the people they're

contracted for want

this rating because

it's a good tax

write off and you

get tax benefits

and tax write-offs

based on what your

lead rating is.

So in theory, it's a

good thing for, for

wanting to use our

resources wisely, um,

and build buildings

so that we're thinking

clearly about what's

gonna be economical.

The problem is

the measure of how

they make things

lead certified is

maybe either not

the best or can get

taken advantage of.

So for example, if,

if you build a, a

lot of lead, if you

look at a lot of lead

certified buildings,

a lot of 'em are just

have a ton of glass.

Filled with glass

because it lets

natural lighting in

it lets sunlight in.

And in some ways it

can be cheaper having,

uh, a glass wall

exterior as opposed

to a lot of different

steel, um, more, more

steel and, and all

this different, um,

dry wall and a whole

bunch of different

wall factors that

they might add in.

Uh, the problem

with glass is it

has a low r value,

meaning it doesn't

insulate very well.

Uh, and so depending

on where you are,

you're actually gonna

lose a lot of heat.

Uh, so when you're

building it, it might

seem like it has good

value because it's

cheaper, but in the

long run, that's gonna

run the HVAC systems

more, it's going to

use more electricity

or more gas.

It's not necessarily

more, it's not

necessarily better

for our environment

in the long run

when you use those,

those resources,

but it gives them a

better lead rating.

So that's what

they'll build.

Or your building

can have a bunch

of bike racks.

That motivates people

to use their bikes to

get to the building

as opposed to using

public transportation

or driving their own

cars, so that's better

for our environment.

The problem is

there'll be buildings

that are built out

in the middle of

nowhere, or built

in a place where

people don't bike,

and they'll build

all these things.

Because if I'm a

builder, it's super

cheap for me to just

put a couple, like,

you know, steel or

concrete, you know,

s things where people

can park their bike.

It's the cheapest way

for me to get a higher

lead certification.

So as a designer,

that's what I'm

gonna do, right?

The point is, there's

a whole bunch of

things that people can

do to get a high lead

rating that in the

end actually aren't

necessarily better

for the environment.

That's what this

concept is, because

when you give people a

goal, and maybe think

of it as an employee

or an employer, when

you have employees

and you tell 'em, Hey,

this is the standard

that I need you to

meet as an employee

of mine, what are

people gonna do?

They're gonna do

exactly what they

need to do to

meet that rating.

You've now

unmotivated them to

work their hardest.

You've just motivated

them to work to

this standard that

you gave them.

And that's what

the concept of Good

Heart's law is.

And, and I think

we run into this as

our, as Christians in

our Christian life.

So I'm gonna talk to

you about being an

apprentice, because as

an apprentice there's

standards that you

kind of need to meet.

And uh, actually Chris

Bratton, if you any

of you remember his

sermon that he did

a while back when

we were at Men's

Retreat, uh, he

talked about this,

uh, the concept of,

of being an apprentice

is a, is a good way

of defining what it

means to follow Jesus.

Usually we talk about

disciples and, and

being disciples,

and that's good.

And there's not

necessarily anything

wrong with it, but

there's a reason why

being an apprentice

is a better

translation of that.

And,

and, we'll, we'll

go into that.

And I think where

we really kind of

start to see that is

really in Matthew 19.

So if you wanna pull

open your Bible, I

will have it up here,

but in Matthew 19,

and I'll wait for for

people to get there.

And we'll start

specifically

on verse 16.

Just then, a man

came up to Jesus and

asked teacher, what

good thing must I do

to get eternal life?

Why do you ask me

about what is good?

Jesus replied, there

is only one who is

good If you want

to enter life, keep

the commandments.

Which ones

he inquired?

Jesus replied, you

shall not murder.

You shall not

commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not give

false testimony.

Honor your father and

mother and love your

neighbor as yourself.

All these I have kept.

The young man said,

what do I still lack?

Jesus answered,

if you want to be

perfect, so, uh, go

sell your possessions

and give to the

poor and you'll have

treasure in heaven,

then come follow me.

When the young man

heard this, he went

away because he

had great wealth.

We wanna be better

Christians and I think

we ask ourselves,

what do I need to do?

How can I be better?

And so we asked this

question somewhere to

this man, and I feel

like this is a story

that I heard even

really young and I've

always kind of chalked

this story up to being

that this guy had a

lot of money and he

needed to give more

of his money away to

be a good Christian.

And he was sad 'cause

he wasn't willing

to give it up.

But really it's a

lot deeper than that

and it's a lot more

important than that.

I.

And, and really we see

this evident actually

at the beginning.

The very first part

is he asks, God,

what good thing must

I do to enter to

get eternal life?

And Jesus says,

why do you ask me

about what is good?

There is only

one who is good.

See, this guy's

question was, how do

I get into heaven?

How do I receive

eternal life?

And Jesus is saying,

you're asking the

wrong question.

You're asking about

getting eternal life.

You're not asking

about who should

I be following?

Who is good?

You have your eyes set

on heaven, not on God.

But Jesus goes along

and says, but I'll

go ahead and answer

this question for you.

You shall not murder.

Murder.

And he gives him

some of the main

commandments and the

guy says, all these

I have kept, what

do I still lack?

Jesus is basically

calling this

guy out on what

he is claiming.

This guy is claiming

I've kept all the law.

But here's the thing,

none of us are, none

of us are perfect

under the law.

We've all failed.

None of us have

kept the law

perfect to a t.

And so Jesus is

actually kind of

evoking, uh, Leviticus

19, I think it is,

maybe Leviticus nine.

But anyway, it

where it talks about

giving to the poor.

And so Jesus says,

okay, well if you

wanna be perfect, if

you've committed all,

if you've been perfect

under law, sell all

your possessions to

the poor, and then

you're good enough

to come follow me.

I mean, I realize

he can't do that.

He doesn't want

to do that.

He's not willing

to follow the law

perfectly to the T.

So Jesus calling

him out on that.

But perhaps an

even bigger concept

of this is the

concept of identity.

This man thought that

he was perfect under

the law, thought

that he was good.

And he had money.

His identity

wasn't his money.

And, and what's

important for us

is to recognize in

Jewish culture at

that time, if you

were someone who

had great wealth, it

was because you were

someone who followed

God really well.

God had rewarded you

by being such a good

follower and giving

you great wealth.

That was the way

they viewed things.

But Jesus was

showing them that

that was an upside

down way of looking

at things, right?

Andy did the whole

sermon series a while

back about an upside,

upside down kingdom.

He was trying to

turn that over and

say, Hey, look, these

people might have

good wealth, but that

doesn't mean they're

good at following me.

And then we see Jesus

goes on to say, um,

truly I tell you, it

is hard for someone

who is rich to enter

the kingdom of heaven.

Again, I tell you,

it is easier for a

camel to go through

the eye of a needle

than for someone

who is rich to enter

the kingdom of God.

When the disciples

heard this, they were

greatly astonished

and asked who

then can be saved.

Jesus looked at them

and said, with man,

this is impossible,

but with God all

things are possible.

Peter answered him, we

have left everything

to follow you.

What then will

be there for us?

Jesus said to him,

truly, I tell you

at the renewal of

all things, when

the son of man sits

on his glorious

throne, you who have

followed me will also

sit on 12 thrones.

Judging the 12 tribes

of Israel and everyone

who has left their

houses or brothers or

sisters, or father or

mother, or wife, or

children, or fields,

for my sake, will

receive a hundred

times as much and will

inherit eternal life.

But many who are

first will be last,

and many who are

last will be first.

But this first part,

Jesus is saying.

It's hard or it's

easier for, um, a

camel to go through

the eye of a needle

than for someone who

is rich to enter the

kingdom of heaven.

It's not about

someone who has

money or is wealthy.

It's about someone

who is rich in that

they think that

they have everything

that they need.

They have everything

in themselves.

Maybe we're rich

in our possessions

and what we find

have financially,

maybe we're rich

in our knowledge,

but the concept of

rich is that I have

everything I need.

But the concept of

following God is not

about what you have

on your own, what you

have to take care of

yourself, but that

you have Jesus to

take care of you.

That you have God

to take care of you.

And that's why it's

hard for a rich

man to enter the

kingdom of heaven.

I mean, it kind of

goes back to, uh,

this is corny, but

going back to even

the karate kid, right?

When like Mr.

Miyagi has this

conversation with

him about how

you cannot fill.

Or you cannot

pour water into an

already filled cup.

This man's cup was

already full in his

mind, so he didn't

have room for Jesus.

And that's why Jesus

is saying it's hard

for him to enter the

kingdom of heaven.

A lot of us wanna,

a lot of us wanna

say that we're

good disciples,

but we're maybe not

good apprentices.

Let's talk about

being an apprentice.

If you're someone

who works in the

trades, maybe you

might be a little

bit more aware of

the concept of being,

um, an apprentice.

I know we have

some plumbers in

this building.

Um, we have people

who've worked

in construction.

When you have

an apprentice,

that person needs

to follow you.

They need to work

under you, and they

need to listen to

everything you say

they need to do.

Everything that

you do, they need

to follow you.

I.

And when we go back

and look at the

disciples, back then,

even before Jesus,

people had rabbis

and, and people who

wanted to follow

a rabbi following

a, a pharisee, a

rabbi, that was like

the greatest honor

that you could have

as a Jewish boy.

And so if you got

chosen worthy of

that, it was a huge

praise for your

parents and it was

an honor for you.

And it wasn't just

like you went to

school and you studied

what they studied.

You went and you

lived with that

person and you woke

up when they woke up.

You prayed when they

prayed, you ate.

When they ate, you

would follow them

and you would be with

them always learning

after them, studying

them, practicing

the same things

that they practiced.

So if you look at

modern day now.

Maybe if you're

a plumber, you

don't have your

employees waking up

with you and, and

stuff like that.

'cause that

would be weird.

But I imagine you'd

rather have an

employee who has

followed every single

thing you do and watch

what you do as opposed

to someone who has,

I've read all the

books on plumbing,

I understand the

laws, I understand

what's code.

Sure, those things are

definitely important,

but that's not what

makes you a good

plumber is knowing the

code because I'm gonna

guess you can know

the code and then you

get in some job and

are like, oh, this is

awful, this stinks.

I don't wanna do this.

I think about ministry

and when I, as

someone who was in

no way had any idea

what I was doing

and ministry first

got called and, and.

Went from

architecture school

to ministry school.

I didn't, I barely

knew anything

about the Bible.

And my mindset

was, man, I'm gonna

be so far behind.

I'm gonna go to

classes and I'm gonna

have to study all of

these things, and it's

just gonna be so much

work for me to study.

You know, the, all

the academics and

the theology and

all these things.

And, and that was

a lot of work.

But what was much

more helpful for me,

and which I, what I

was much more, um,

much more skilled

at was also that

ministry school in

particular mine.

What I'm really

thankful for is that

they have practicums.

They don't just

say, Hey, here's

a book, here's the

bible, here's how

theology works.

But they actually go,

Hey, go out and you're

gonna find a church.

You're gonna find

a pastor and you're

gonna work there.

They actually make you

do hands-on training

with the knowledge.

And my wife and I were

talking about this

last night when she

was in nursing school.

They actually have

you go out and

work clinicals.

They don't just say,

Hey, here's how you

save someone's life.

Here's what a heart

rate should be.

Here's what

blood pressure

should look like.

Right?

It's not just that,

and thank God,

because if we just

had people who had

just read everything

about being a nurse

or a doctor and then

just threw them right

into the hospital,

it would be awful.

And I'm super thankful

that I went to a

school that helped

me understand that.

'cause if I just read

the Bible and studied

it and came in right

into ministry, I can

think of all these

situations that I, my

first year officially,

my first job getting

put into ministry, I

would've not handled

the situation as well.

And I would've

misled people

and hurt people.

And I definitely

haven't been

perfect as a

pastor since then.

Anyway.

Um, but I, that

hands-on experience

definitely helped me.

You see, the thing

with disciples is that

disciples are taught

apprentices practice.

Lemme explain

that further.

If

we look at the word

disciple, and that's

how we translate, um,

followers of Jesus,

if you're a disciple,

you are discipled to,

and this reminds me of

when, after I stepped

away from this youth

pastor position,

Andy and I talked

about, well, what,

what can my title be?

What should I be?

And I kind of threw

out this term to him,

the concept of being

a, like, I've always

felt, I've always felt

called to being a dis

like a discipleship

to mentoring people

and, and working

with people and

helping them get

through things.

Discipleship was

something I always

felt called to and I,

so I kind of talked

to him about this.

I really like this

idea of pastor of

discipleship, but I

told him, but also

it feels very niche

and also what does

it even mean exactly?

Will people know?

What will people

think of that?

And uh, ultimately

we went with just

assistant pastor.

Um, Andy may be having

different motivations

than me about that

title, but, uh,

it's, you know, if

someone's septic

system messes up,

that's maybe not

a job for a pastor

of discipleship.

But Andy can send the

assistant pastor to go

do that 'cause I can

go assist with that.

But I'm really glad

that we didn't go with

pastor of discipleship

because here's the

thing, our problem in

the church is, I think

we like the concept

of discipleship

because that puts

the responsibility

on someone else.

This church

doesn't have a good

discipleship program.

They're not good

at training me.

This pastor

didn't do a good

job training me.

They didn't do a

good job teaching me.

They could have

taught me better.

And while that I'm

sure has validity

in places, it's

important that pastors

are good teachers.

That puts the

responsibility

on the pastor.

When I'm an

apprentice,

maybe I had a, if I

have a really good

teacher, I'm gonna

be really good.

And even if maybe I

have a bad teacher,

I might still be good

because I'm watching

everything they do and

I see the things they

do that don't work.

Austin, you're

a plumber.

I imagine when, if

you have some kid

who's working for you.

You don't want someone

who does the bare

minimum or maybe just

sits back and lets

you do all the work.

Maybe it's easier

for you sometimes to

do all the work, but

you don't want an

employee who just sits

back and does exactly

what you say to them

as opposed to an

employee who doesn't,

doesn't have to wait

for you to say, Hey,

shine the flashlight

on that for me.

You want someone

who's already has

a flashlight and is

doing that for you, or

maybe an employee who

says, Hey, what can

I be doing right now?

Do you need this?

That's what a

great employee is.

A great apprentice

is, is someone who

anticipates your

needs, someone who

has something, who

has seen how you did a

job the previous time

and the next time has

everything you need

ready for you and is

before you even have

to ask for that tool.

It's right there

and you can grab it.

And I think that same

thing applies to our

following of Jesus.

It's easy for us to

be someone who sits

back and complains,

Jesus, what do

I gotta do next?

God, I don't

know what to do.

Can you tell

me what to do?

And instead, being

someone who looks at

the Bible and says.

You know what?

This is what you

did for Abraham, so

I'm gonna do that.

This is what you

did for Matthew, so

I'm gonna do that.

Someone who instead

is trying to

anticipate needs and

follow those things

as an apprentice,

the onus is on you of

how good you follow.

You can't just sit

back and let someone

do the work for you.

'cause let's take

that a step further.

You can have the best

teacher and still be

a terrible follower.

The greatest

teacher that ever

was was Jesus

and one of his

disciples failed.

I mean, they all

really failed at

certain points,

but Right.

We can all agree.

Judas didn't do a good

job following him.

That was Judas demise.

Was it because

Jesus wasn't a good

enough follower?

No, it was because

Judas wasn't a good

enough apprentice.

He got tied up in

money instead of

following Jesus.

It's important that

we follow God and,

and because of, you

know, good heart's law

that I talked about,

making a standard,

it, it's hard.

'cause I always, when

I do a sermon, I wanna

have a practical step.

Like I don't wanna

just say a cool

concept and people

are like, that's

cool, that's awesome.

That, yeah, that was

such a good sermon.

And then go home like,

okay, well I don't

know what to do with

that sermon though.

I always wanna have

like practical steps

that you can follow

if, if, if this

is something that

you're struggling

with, go home and

do these things.

But I kind of

struggled with that

for today's sermon

because I'm afraid

if I give steps.

Then I'm just creating

a standard for you to

be like, okay, well

I did those things.

I'm good now.

So I'm not gonna

do that today.

But I wanna, I wanna

give you a challenge

in, in the book that

we're gonna be, um,

kind of following

for the small groups.

Uh, it's based off

the book that Chris

Fratton talked

about, which is

practicing the way.

There's a great

quote in here, um,

that, that the author

has, uh, that really

just hit home with

me and, and so I'm

hoping it's gonna

hit home with you.

You can't just let

your hand slip up at

the end of a sermon.

It's a high

bar of entry.

It will require

you to reorder your

entire life around

following Jesus your

as, your undisputed

top priority over

your job, your money,

your reputation

over everything.

Yet these things

will all find the

rightful place once

integrated into a life

of apprenticeship.

When you follow

God, that's a call

of a lifetime.

And there are

practices that are

a part of that, and

we can look at those

things and kind of,

that can be maybe an

indication of how good

we're following God.

But once we make

those a standard of

measure, it can be a

dangerous game because

then we're making

it about following

those standards.

These small groups are

gonna be nine weeks.

Okay?

And we're not asking

you to read the book.

If you want to, that's

great, but we're not

asking you to do that.

Each Sunday sermon is

going to go over one

of these practices

of following God,

and we're gonna talk

about those as a small

group every Sunday.

So it doesn't matter

what small group

you're in, we're

all gonna be talking

about the same thing.

We're all gonna be

unified in that.

And that's what

I really think is

important about

these small groups.

It's not about making

a checklist of, Hey, I

went to small groups.

I'm being a

good Christian.

It's us as believers.

Apprenticing together,

helping each other

through things that

we struggle with.

Maybe some of you have

tried to take a job

that you thought you

really wanted to do

and maybe you started

it and you had to have

a conversation with

your boss or your,

your trainee who was

like, you know, maybe

this isn't for you.

You know, I joked

about going into, I

joke, I talked about

being an architect

major and I always

talk about like,

yeah, well God pulled

me away from that.

And that's true.

But I honestly,

even if God didn't,

I don't know that

that would've

worked out for me.

'cause it's kind of

crucial thing that

I hate math, and I

don't know if you

know this, but math's

pretty important

to architecture and

I always was like,

you know what, I'll

figure it out and

I'll get through it.

'cause I really like

this and that was what

I told myself and,

and maybe I would've,

but I don't know.

I'm not looking back

now knowing myself.

I don't know if it

would've, and I feel

like I would've had

this conversation

with a professor

or with someone who

had said, you know,

you might wanna look

into something else.

And I think a lot of

us start following

Jesus and think

about the things

that we're called to.

We read these stories

and say, give up

all of my money and

then follow Jesus.

I can't do that.

I need to survive.

I have a family

to take care of.

We look at these

things and we kind

of maybe lie to

ourselves and say,

you know, maybe

this isn't for me,

but I want to

encourage you that

Jesus looks at you

and he says, no,

this is for you.

It's a high

bar of entry.

But the good news

is, is God calls you

into that high bar.

Trust me, I was in

no way good enough

to be a pastor, and

I am not good enough

to be a pastor.

I'm only here 'cause

God calls me to it

and God tells me

what to say and he

helps me when I have

conversations with

people that are hard.

So in the same

way following God,

whether it's me or

you, or Andy, anybody

in this building.

Jesus is telling

us all, no, I have

called you to this.

This is for you.

So don't let yourself

have these excuses of

it not being something

that you're meant for.

'cause you are.

And it's gonna be

hard and we're gonna

have struggles.

And that's the

importance of us

being in small groups.

When we break

out, you can talk

to one another.

Hey, I'm struggling

with this.

This is hard for me.

Or I don't even

understand this.

You guys can talk

about those things.

That's what it means

to follow Jesus.

Now isn't important.

It's interesting.

Like Jesus could

have maybe called

Matthew to follow

him, and Matthew

could have been enough

to diligently take

all of his notes.

And that could be our

gospel and that could

be the scripture.

Or he could have

just chosen Paul.

Jesus chose 12

people to follow him.

And while I think

there's value in the

different gospels

having different.

Recordings and

different stories

and and different

perspectives on Jesus

and what he did.

It didn't have

to necessarily

be that way.

God could have made

it work out the other

way, but I think he

called multiple people

to follow him because

of the interactions

that they had with

each one another, the

way they encouraged

one another and the

way they failed, and

they learned from

each other's failures.

That's why small

groups are important.

So as we're launching

into small groups,

and as we look at

all these different

practices, I wanna

encourage you to not

make these practices

about checking off

boxes and about

saying, you know what?

I did these nine

things and I'm

gonna keep doing

these nine things.

So I'm a good

Christian.

It's about following

Jesus with all

your heart, taking

your riches, your

job, your identity

that you have built

yourself up with,

and surrendering that

over to God, pursuing

him at all costs.

I can give you thing,

I can give you,

you know, a list

of things that are

maybe indications

that you're doing

that, but that's

kind of a danger.

What it really comes

down to is you need

to be, if you're

spending time with

God, if you're truly

deep down in your

soul, surrendering

who you are to God

and following him,

honestly, he's gonna

tell you those things.

And he might also

tell you those things

through someone

else when you get

confused maybe, and

you might need extra

help, but if you're

truly pursuing him,

he's gonna help you

on those things.

And it might be easy

to give yourself

an excuse of why

you don't wanna

listen to him.

And that's also the

benefit of being

with other people.

And that's, that's the

importance of church.

I know people who

I even went to

college with and,

and they would say,

well, I don't go to

church, but I do my

own time with God.

Know, I, I go and

I spend time in the

Bible Sunday morning

and I'll listen to

some worship music and

like, I mean, there's

nothing wrong with

doing those things,

but that's not an

alternative to church.

You're not sharing

that with other people

and you listening to

what God is saying

to you, it's strictly

only based on your

own perception.

And like I said, God

does speak to you,

but there's kind of

a danger when you're

relying completely

on yourself to maybe

give you the wisdom

that God has given us

because, and if you're

married, you know

this, sometimes we

hear the wrong thing

than what's really

being said to us.

And we need someone

else to help us.

So I just kind of

wanna walk you, or I

want you to walk away

with this concept that

don't be a disciple

and that a disciple

is someone who is as

taught that it's as

someone who receives,

be an apprentice.

You are someone who

is actively following,

observing God.

You are waking

up with him.

Just like people

who followed under

their rabbis.

You're waking up with

him, you're eating

breakfast with him.

You're pursuing him

and and you're doing

everything he's doing.

You are practicing

after him.

You're not just

reading about

him in a book and

understanding him.

Paul talks about

how he was faultless

under the law.

The Pharisees knew

scripture better

than anybody else.

They know scripture

better than us.

Yet when they were

writing face to face

with Jesus, they

didn't recognize

him because they

had done a great job

following scripture,

but not a good

job following God.

So my challenge for

you is to practice,

be an apprentice,

and this is me hyping

this as someone

who's kind of in

charge of this now.

But there is a small

group thing in the

back there, right?

Some of, if I've had a

conversation with you

about it and being in

a group, I've probably

already assigned

you to a group.

There's a lot of you

who signed up that

might not be there or

are interested in, and

I hope everyone can

go back to that back.

And there's a pen you

can go ahead and fill

out for yourself.

I tried to make it

as easy as possible

to see what the

groups are, but just

know that we're all

gonna be talking

about the same thing.

We're all gonna

be unified in this

because I think

it's important that

we all be better

apprentices together.

So you bow your heads

with me in prayer.

Father, thank

you so much that

you are a teacher

and that you don't

leave us up to just

being followers of

men, of of people

who can fail, of

pastors who are flawed

and can and make

mistakes, but that

ultimately you are

all of our teacher.

You are our guide.

That you speak to

us, and if we are

struggling listening

to you and hearing

what you have in

our life, I ask

that you will bring

someone into our life

who can speak your

truth and get to us.

Encourage us and

help us find time to

actually take a break

from everything and

to step away so we can

hear you over all the

noises of this world.

And we commit to you,

God, that we can't

just rely on you to

do all this work for

us, but we commit

to you that we're

gonna follow you.

We're gonna wake

up with you, we're

gonna pursue you

above all else, we're

gonna surrender and

submit our lives to

you as individuals

and as a church.

And thank you that we

can trust submitting

our lives to you

above anybody else.

'cause you're a much

better caretaker of

our lives than even

we are ourselves.

Amen.