Learning & Growing Together

This morning we are continuing a study that we've begun on discipleship. We want

to focus on this because it's a crucial aspect of our lives as Christians.

Often we can spend a lot of time emphasizing the need to become a

Christian and rightly so because there's nothing more important than that. But at

the same time it's essential that we spend time talking and thinking about

how we live our lives as Christians and that's what we mean by discipleship. And

in order to help us with this great topic we are using the image of a tree.

And the reason we're doing that is because it's a theme that runs through

the whole of Scripture. But in many ways a key text for us is the passage that

Derek preached on two weeks ago in Jeremiah 17 verses 7 and 8.

Jeremiah 17:7

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a

tree planted by water that sends out its roots by the stream and does not fear

when the heat comes for its leaves remain green and it is not anxious in the

year of drought for it does not cease to bear fruit. On the basis of this image of

a tree we've identified five key aspects of discipleship which all relate to the

tree image. These are on cards which were issued last week. There's spare ones in

the table at the back so if you didn't get one there's a weak card that looks

just like this. As disciples we are first and foremost rooted and living in

Christ. Just as a tree is rooted to the ground and draws life from the ground as

disciples we are rooted and living in Christ. But as a tree grows so too do we

and as disciples we are learning and growing together. A tree has many

branches each look different but all perform a function as disciples we

serve together in unity. A tree provides a wonderful sort of shelter and as

disciples we are to love and protect one another and a tree once it's grown can

bear fruit for others that people can see and that people can taste and that

people can benefit from. And so we're going to look at all of these one by one.

Last week we looked at the first and saw that as disciples we are rooted and

living in Christ. That's what a Christian is somebody who is united to Jesus and

on the basis of our union with Christ and in the strength of that union we want

to live our lives for him. And in many ways that's the overarching truth that's

why it's the big one in the middle. It is the fact that we are as we are rooted

and living in Christ that's that's the overarching truth over all our lives as

disciples. This week we're going to look on to the second aspect that we've

identified on our card and the fact that as disciples rooted and living in Christ

we are learning and growing together. You can see it at the top of the card. As we

do so let's turn back to Ephesians chapter 4. We'll look at various parts of

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

this chapter we can read again verses 11 to 13. He gave the apostles, the prophets,

the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers to equip the saints for the

work of ministry for the building up of the body of Christ until we all attain

to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to mature

manhood to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Learning is a

crucial aspect of being a disciple. In fact that's what the Greek word for

disciple actually means. A disciple is a learner and as Christians we follow Jesus

and we learn from him. That's seen very clearly in the Sermon on the Mount which

in many ways is the key passage about discipleship in the Bible. As we read at

the start when Jesus began that sermon Matthew records that seeing the crowds

Jesus went up on the mountain and when he sat down his disciples came to him

and he opened his mouth and taught them. As disciples we learn and as we learn we

grow. So we have this at a foundational level the fact that we are

united to Jesus rooted and living in him but from that foundation we embark on

this amazing journey of growth as we learn more and more. Paul speaks about

that in Ephesians 4. We grow in our knowledge of Jesus and we move towards

maturity but it's a theme that runs through the whole of the New Testament.

Peter says the same thing he says grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord

and Savior Jesus Christ. So I want us to recognize that as we were saying

last week the New Testament doesn't say to us as disciples you need to be rooted

and living in Christ because we already are if we are believing in Jesus but the

New Testament does say that now that you are rooted and living in Christ you need

to learn and grow together. And all of this means that one of the most

important aspects of our discipleship is our thinking. In fact one of the

definitions for the Greek word disciple which I read this week said that a

disciple is someone who directs their mind towards something. And I think it's

very important to recognize that because sometimes it's an aspect

that we can neglect. Sometimes we can think that Christianity is just a

matter of our hearts. It's about my personal faith, about my relationship with

Jesus. It's all about my heart. Sometimes we emphasize the fact that our

Christian lives are all about our outward living. So we need to walk the

walk, we need to show our faith in action and both of these are absolutely

true. But alongside the inward condition of our hearts and the outward way in

which we live our lives we must never ever forget that at the center of biblical

Christian discipleship is a transformation of our minds. That means

that as disciples of Jesus we all need to think. And of course that that should

make perfect sense because if you ask the question how is it that you become a

disciple? What do you do to enter the kingdom of God? The answer is that we

repent and believe. That was Jesus's call when he began preaching the Gospel.

He called us to repent and that word repent what does it mean? It means to

change the way you think. As disciples we are now to think differently. We're no

longer unbelievers and we begin this amazing journey of discovery where we

learn the truth from our teacher and our King Jesus Christ. And one of the reasons

why it's very important to emphasize that is because I think our culture

around us thinks that if you're going to have faith then you need to switch off

your brain. It's the idea that that faith is mindless and irrational but that is

utterly untrue. Mindless Christianity is absolutely not biblical Christianity.

The Bible is totally bound up with a concern for the way in which you and I

think. And really the great message of the Bible is that the truth

of Scripture is the only way that our minds can make sense of the world

around us. And I think we would all recognize that in many ways so many of

our struggles and difficulties come from wrong thinking. So the worries and

fears and insecurities that we all have they come from thoughts that plague us.

So many of the mistakes that we make where we hurt ourselves or we hurt other

people they start out from thinking foolish things. If I look back at my life

at everything I regret in all of those situations I can say I wish I thought

differently. And so much of the hostility that we see in the world around us

comes from a mindset that's broken and corrupted by sin. If you think of a

terrorist what's the first thing that a terrorist does? He thinks and everything

follows from there. Paul recognizes this in verses 17 to 19 he emphasizes that at

the heart of discipleship is turning away from the futile and empty thinking

of the world around us. As disciples our minds are very important we are learners

and as we learn we grow. So I want us just to think about this together in a

wee bit more detail and to do so we're going to ask three very simple questions.

What do we learn? How do we learn? And why should we learn? But before we do so I

just want to highlight one very important point. The fact that we that as

disciples we are learners emphasizes something absolutely crucial. It reminds

us of the fact that we don't know it all. When we speak about learning and growing

it's very easy to think well I hardly know anything so I'm not cut out for

discipleship and it's easy to feel intimidated and inferior but the amazing

thing is that if you look at yourself and think well I've got so much to learn

that does not mean that you aren't cut out for discipleship it means that you

are perfect for discipleship. Every single one of us is a learner. Every

single one of us has tons to learn. Every single one of us here knows some

stuff and doesn't know other stuff. Every one of us is learning every day. There

is absolutely no such thing as a disciple who knows it all. And so if you feel like

you're standing before Jesus and saying to him I don't know very much I think

Jesus's reply would be perfect. Follow me. That's why the journey of learning

and growing as disciples is not intimidating. It's really exciting. So our

first question what do we learn? Well we could say well at a basic level we need

to learn Bible stuff as disciples. That's the kind of simple answer to that

question isn't it? When it comes to being a Christian there's lots of stuff to

learn. We need to learn things like this. We need to learn theology. We need to learn

about who God is and what he's done. We need to learn about morality. We need to

learn that there's certain behavior that's appropriate, certain behavior that's

inappropriate. We need to learn about church but what it means to be a member

of the church. We need to learn about what's going on in other parts of the

church around the world and we need to learn about life in general. How we

should live our lives. What we should devote our energy. What we should

prioritize. And that's that's all pretty obvious. There's lots to learn. Some of it

is very straightforward. So as a disciple you'll go to the Bible and it'll

teach you that you need to pray and that seems really straightforward and

obvious. Some of it is completely counter-cultural and it's the opposite to

what the world around us thinks. Like the fact that as disciples a Christian

couple will not live together or sleep together until they're married. That's

the opposite of the way the world around us thinks. So some of it's simple, some of

it's very counter-cultural and some of it is just mind-blowing. Like the fact that

God would give his only precious beloved son to suffer and die in utter agony.

Because he wants to save you and because he loves you that much. So when it comes

to reading a part of the Bible whether it's the letter to Ephesians here or

whichever part it may be I hope that as disciples we would all say I want to

learn what that teaches me about God and I want to learn what this teaches me

about how I should live. However having said all of that if you look at Ephesians

4, in fact if you look at the whole of the New Testament you'll discover that

our learning is not really about knowing Bible stuff. In fact it's not really

about that at all. As disciples we are not learning in order to get to know

some things. As disciples we are learning in order to get to know someone. As Paul

says in this chapter verse 13 we're aiming to grow in the knowledge of the

Son of God and in the chapter he talks about the fact that we learn Christ and

the truth that is in him. And that's a really important thing to recognize.

Discipleship is not really about knowing Bible stuff or church stuff.

Discipleship is about knowing God through Jesus Christ. And I want you just to

think about that for a moment. Is there a difference between knowing something

and knowing someone? There's a massive difference isn't there? Knowing something

means that you have information. Knowing someone means that you have a

relationship. And at the heart of being a disciple is the fact that we now have a

relationship with Jesus as our Lord, our teacher, our brother and our friend. And we

want to learn not in order to know stuff, even if it's Bible stuff, we want to

learn in order to know him. And that's really what the Bible means when it

talks about knowledge. In the biblical sense to know someone means to have a

relationship with them and to love them in the deepest and most profound way. And

that's what lies at the heart of the eternal life that Jesus gives us. He

says this is eternal life that they know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ

whom you have sent. And all the stuff that we learn and after that the truth

that we seek to understand, the instructions we aim to follow, the

standards we strive to meet, the priorities that we endeavor to have.

None of that is about doing what Christians do because that's the club

that we're in. It's about doing what Jesus wants because we love him and we're

getting to know him. And that's why what we learn should have a massive effect on

the way we live. And throughout the Bible you'll see that there's this constant

emphasis in the fact that what we know should shape the way we live our lives.

We see that in Ephesians. In the first part of that letter, chapters one, two and

three, Paul gives us tons of information about what God has done for us in Jesus.

And then in chapter four he says, therefore walk, in other words, therefore now

live your lives in the light of all of this truth. Our aim is not to learn so

that our heads are just full of knowledge. Our aim is to learn so that every part

of our lives are shaped by the fact that we are rooted and living in Christ. But

as we learn the various instructions and information that the Bible gives us, it's

vital that we remember the relationship that lies behind all of that

information. So you can go to a part of the Bible like Ephesians 4 and you'll

find lots of instructions telling you to do stuff, telling you to not do stuff.

There's some examples there. So verse 29 says, let no corrupt in talk comes out

of your mouth. Verse 31 says put away bitterness. Verse 32 says forgive one

another and there's many, many more. As disciples we have to learn these

instructions and we have to live by them. But if that's just bare information, then

it can seem like just a kind of moral to-do list that we have to try and match

up to. Just a big long list of do's and don'ts. But the truth is behind all of

these instructions is a relationship and it's because of the relationship that

we get these instructions. Jesus is not a slave driver who just wants us to do

what he says. Jesus is a loving master who knows that corrupt in talk can

destroy someone's life. Bitterness can eat away at you like a cancer and when

you are wronged the only way that you can be fully healed is to forgive. In other

words all of these instructions are given to us because Jesus loves us so much.

It's really easy to think that if we follow Jesus' instructions he will

love us more. It's not true. The truth is the whole reason we have these

instructions is because he loves us already more than we could ever know.

And that's why his teaching is a brilliant thing to learn. Question two, how do

we learn? What does learning and growing involve? Well there's a lot that we could

say here. I just want to highlight some very brief points but I think that

there's several principles that are involved in learning and growing and

it's maybe helpful to remember these. So first of all, learning involves

community. That's something we maybe don't think of but it's a crucial aspect of

all areas of knowledge. Learning is a community activity. So a baby learns from

her parents. That's a community. A child learns in their classroom. That's a

community. A sportsman learns from their coach and their teammates. That's a

community and even if you read a book on your own you're relying on the work of

the author, the printer, the publisher. That's a community. All learning is a

community activity. And it's a great example that if one person in the world

believes that pigs can fly, the rest of the community, the rest of the world

shows that that's persons not learnt anything. They're actually mad. Learning

is a community activity. That's true of every area of knowledge. It's especially

true in discipleship. Even this letter that Paul wrote to the Ephesians, that's

in a community setting. It's to a group with which he has a connection. And

that's why we learn and grow together. That's why we're here today, a church

studying God's word. That's why we have city group and engine room, our midweek

prayer meeting each week so that we can learn and grow together. That's why we

want to encourage you to meet up for one-to-one support with another disciple.

As disciples we're learning together. We learn with each other. We learn from

each other. We do it as a community. Learning involves commitment. Every

aspect of learning takes time, whatever that may be, and it's absolutely true in

the Christian life. If you think of a tree, a tree grows very slowly. It's not the

finished article overnight. It's a long-term process. Growing and learning

takes time. And as disciples we are embarking on a journey of learning where

bit by bit we grow in our knowledge of Jesus. In many ways a disciple is

committing to a lifetime of learning. In fact a disciple is committing to an

eternity of learning where we discover more and more about God. But that

commitment that learning involves is incredibly rewarding. There is so much

to learn as a follower of Jesus and everything we learn is amazing. That's

one of the brilliant things about our future as Christians. We will be

learning forever. That means that we will be saying wow forever as we discover

more and more about Jesus. So learning is rewarding but it does involve

commitment. That's why we want to roll up our sleeves and go for it. So whoever you

are, let's read, let's talk, let's learn about the Bible together. Learning also

involves humility. As disciples if we are going to be learners that means that

we have to be teachable. And sometimes it can be hard to be teachable. Sometimes

we can think that we know it all. Surprisingly especially when you're young

you think it would be the other way around. I remember I think I could sum

up my teens and twenties as my teens thinking I knew it all and in my 20s

thinking oh man I was such an idiot. We need to be teachable. Never ever forget

that in discipleship it is absolutely okay to say I don't know. So you might

face a situation, you might be asked a question, you might be confronted by

something. It is absolutely okay to say I don't know. I'll need to ask someone. I'll

need to find out more. And it's also really good to ask questions. That's a

wonderful thing to do in our discipleship so that we learn and grow together.

Learning also involves mistakes. So if you're learning to walk, to talk, if

you're learning a new language, if you're learning a new piece of technology, one

thing is guaranteed. You're going to make mistakes and that's too in

discipleship as well. We all make mistakes. Now that doesn't mean that you can say

oh well I can make as many mistakes as I want. I can sin as much as I like. Please

don't ever ever think like that. But at the same time please remember that

mistakes will happen. Sometimes mistakes are the only things that will teach us.

And sometimes learning can be a painful process. But ultimately that's for our

good. So learning involves community, it involves commitment, it involves humility,

it involves mistakes. Most of all learning involves faith. And that's true in

in every area of knowledge. Whether it's trusting our senses when we're trying to

observe the world around us. Whether it's trusting a teacher or a lecturer or an

author who's telling us something. Whether it's trusting our systems and

theories to hold true. Or whether it's even trusting our Supreme Court to sort

out a difficult question. The active principle in all knowledge is faith.

Learning involves trust. And that's absolutely true in discipleship. All of

our learning is grounded on our faith in Jesus. We are trusting that he is the

truth. And we are following him because he is the way. And that raises the question

that every single person in here has to consider. In terms of what you know. In

terms of what you would regard as the secure knowledge of your life. In

terms of the knowledge that you stake everything on. Who are you trusting? We

learn through community, commitment, humility, mistakes and faith. Finally

we're going to ask the question why should we learn? What difference does it

make? And again there's lots we could say. Overall learning is simply the

natural response to revelation. In the Bible God is speaking to us so it's

crazy to do anything other than listen and learn what he's saying. And in that

process of listening and learning there are some wonderful effects that it has

on us as we grow as disciples of Jesus. Learning encourages us. We see that at

the beginning of Ephesians. Paul says I do not cease to give thanks for you

remembering you in my prayers that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father

of glory may give you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation and the knowledge

of him. Have in the eyes of your hearts enlightened that you may know what is the

hope to which he's called you. What are the riches of his glorious inheritance

in the saints. Here he's saying that the knowledge and enlightening that we have

can give us hope. And this is where we have to always remember that the Gospel

is good news. It's a message of hope, of peace, of security, of comfort, of

friendship, of love. And the more you learn of that the more you can take with

you into the week ahead and all the challenges that that can bring. Learning

encourages us. Learning also reassures us. In chapter 2 we see it says but now in

Christ Jesus you who are once far off have been brought near by the blood of

Christ for he himself is our peace who has made us both one and

has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility. Never ever

forget that the solid truth that we learn in the Bible always trumps the

stuff that we are being told by our feelings. And there's a great example of

that in verse 13. Very often we feel that we are far off from God so see the

two words far off. That's a common feeling for disciples. We

think that we've mucked up, we've failed God, we are far away from what we should

be. That's a feeling but the truth is those who are far off have been brought

near and so the words far off are a feeling we often have but brought near

is a fact and the fact always trumps the feeling. God has brought you near. He is

holding you and he will never ever let you go. Learning can reassure us. Learning

also challenges us. We can see an example of that at the end of Ephesians 4

with these instructions, let no corrupt in talk come out of your mouths but only

such as is good for building up as fit for the occasion that it may give

grace to those who hear. Do not leave the Holy Spirit of God by whom you are

sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and

clamour and slander be put away from you along with all malice. Be kind to one

another, tender hearted for giving one another as God in Christ forgave you.

Learning will challenge us. It'll challenge us to think differently. It'll

challenge us to behave differently. It'll challenge us to react differently. But

if there's one thing that's true of you as a disciple going into the week ahead

you should be different. So when your colleagues are slagging someone off

behind their back, when your friends are being critical of somebody who's made a

mistake, when people around you are being lazy or selfish, we should be really,

really different. Learning also changes us. Paul speaks about that. He says to put

off your old self which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt

through deceitful desires and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds. To

put on the new self created after the likeness of God in true righteousness

and holiness. Ultimately discipleship is a great journey of restoration back

into bearing the image of God. We are learning and growing more and more so

that we can become more and more like Jesus. Learning equips us. That's what we

have in verse 11 and 12. He gave the apostles the prophets, the evangelists,

the shepherds and teachers to equip the saints, the disciples for works of

ministry. But that's next week's sermon where we look at serving in a bit more

detail. Two more. Learning protects us so that we may not be no longer children

tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine,

by human cunning and craftiness in deceitful schemes. Learning gives us a

stability and it keeps us from being led astray. It protects us from thinking

that God doesn't like us and that we have to earn his favor. It protects us

from thinking that sin is not that serious and we can do whatever we like.

It protects us from thinking that we're not that gifted and can't serve. It

protects us from thinking that we know it all. It protects us from thinking that

we're not worth anything. Learning will protect us. But more than anything else,

learning amazes us. And there's a great example of that in Ephesians 3, just the

chapter before, that Christ may dwell in your heart through faith that you being

rooted and grounded in love may have strength to comprehend with all the

saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love

of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness

of God. And it's that statement at the start of verse 19 where we're told that

that Jesus wants you to learn about the fact that he loves you with a love that

is bigger and greater and stronger than anything that your mind can cope with.

It's a love that surpasses knowledge. In other words, he wants you to learn about

his mind-blowing love for you. That is why learning and growing as disciples is

amazing. Let's pray together.

God our Father, we acknowledge that we have so much to learn and so often in

life we can think that we know it all, that we know who we are, we know what we

need, we know what life's about. And yet the truth is we are tiny specks in a

massive universe and we hardly know anything. But we thank you so much that

you have revealed yourself to us in and through your Son Jesus. And we thank you

that in Him we find that tiny specks like us are actually incredibly precious

to you. And we pray, O Lord, that as your disciples we would learn more and more of

the amazing love that you have for us and that we would apply all the truths of

your word to every part of our lives. We pray that we will be humble and

teachable. We pray that we would every week be learning and growing together. In

Jesus name we pray. Amen.