Discipleship 2026 | Intentional Steps Toward Jesus - Matthew 28:19-21 | January 11

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Before we get into, further into the year, into spiritual warfare,

which will be sort of new for this church and also has the potential bringing

along it the felt presence of spiritual warfare,

which isn't a terrible thing, but it's a hard thing as well.

So before we get too far into that, I want to just take this opportunity before

we settle into a routine to continue to remind about discipleship and what discipleship

is and why it's important.

And as we look forward to starting our groups back in February as we look forward

to continuing this conversation and developing what does it look like not just

to be a disciple in general,

but for us to be disciples here in this family, in this church, and disciple others.

What does that look like in our context and who we are?

If you missed out last year, that's the bad news that you missed out.

But the good news is that you have the opportunity to be a part of the groups this year.

It's not too late. And I really would, the message I want to share more than

anything is that I would love for you guys to all participate in being discipled and discipling others.

This year or in the next year as we continue to define what that looks like.

And just for all of you to realize that this is what discipleship is,

and this is what our lives should be about.

There's really the heart behind it that you would be excited about it.

And as much as I can muster excitement to be able to rub off and share with you, I hope that I can.

And it truly has the potential, not just to be another thing,

but to transform all that you are and all you care about.

And that's what discipleship was instituted for and Jesus left us with.

The sad reality in our particular church context in this country is that so

few of us have truly been discipled.

It's not been the priority of the church in America for a long time.

And we could get into reasons why. Part of that is sort of a translation in

the King James Version for the Great Commission that shifts the meaning a little bit,

enough to propel the churches for the last hundred years on a mission that is

good, but not quite discipleship.

But all of us, some of us maybe have been discipled, but so many,

such a large percentage of people in this country have never been discipled.

And so it's difficult. And as mature believers, some of us sometimes our response

is, oh, well, I know what that is and I can do it.

So I really want to caution and urge you not to just rush ahead and say, I know what I'm doing.

I've got an idea. I'm going to go take these people and do it.

Just because we want to make sure that we're all walking together.

And this is what discipleship is in some ways. And so it has the idea of being

familiar, but also because we're unaccustomed to it, to being a strange and

sometimes, like Bree was saying, scary venture for us all.

And we can realize this as we ask the questions to ourselves or together of

if someone asks you, what is discipleship?

Do you feel like you're prepared to answer that question? What discipleship?

What is a disciple? What is discipleship?

Do you feel prepared that if someone decided to follow Jesus,

that you would know what to do and how to lead them?

And you would know how to walk with them beyond that initial decision point.

So much of the church focus has been on getting people to make a decision.

As a result, so little focus has been on what happens after they make a decision.

And so we really want to share a perspective and a vision for discipleship that

is, includes people making their first steps toward Jesus, as well as a lifetime

of making steps, our next steps towards Jesus.

Discipleship doesn't happen automatically. It requires intentional steps.

And so at Mountainside, we are continuing to build our plan.

We have a plan, but as they would say at the Great British Bake Off, it's rough and ready.

So it's a bit rough. It's a bit informal. It's taking shape as we go.

But also, I should say this. All of us are being discipled and have been discipled.

Every moment, every event, everything we do or are a part of contributes to

teaching and shaping and forming us in some way.

So it's not, I guess the question isn't really whether we're being discipled.

The question is, are we being discipled and are we becoming disciples?

The kind of people who Jesus wants us to be? Are we helping people to follow Jesus?

Are we helping people to become the type of disciple that Jesus calls us to be?

Or are we becoming a disciple of something else or focused in a different way?

Because everything, every event, every program is shaping us and turning us into something.

And sometimes they're not helping us become who Jesus wants us to be.

But from Genesis to Revelation, the message has always been,

God's work has always been to call a people, to form a people,

and then to send that people out.

And the story of redemption has never just been merely about saving a people

from something, but it has also been about forming a people to reflect God's

character into this world.

And that's what we talk about with discipleship, is that discipleship is that formation.

Formation requires discipleship, you might say. It's the mechanism for formation.

And at its most basic, we could say that discipleship is intentional steps towards Jesus taken together.

If we want to define it in a very simple way, intentional steps taken towards

Jesus together together,

It's belief and it's practice woven together. It is intentionally action forward.

And if we think about the verses throughout Scripture that talk about formation,

that talk about discipleship, that talk about what it means to know and follow

Jesus, they all involve these action words.

So Micah 6.8 talks about what is good for us, and that is to walk humbly with

our God. is this movement, this walking.

In Mark, in Psalm 1, we read what is not good to walk into, right?

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers.

And so there is a walking towards and walking away from that is involved in

this discipleship, this formation.

We see it in regards to these ideas of not just walking, but of following.

In Mark chapter 1, Jesus invites his disciples to follow him.

Mark 1 · chapter mention

That's his first, some of his first instructions to those he would call disciples is follow me.

And Luke 9, 23, he gives that larger call to more of them that whoever wants

to be his disciple must deny themselves, must take up their cross and follow him.

We see this idea of not just walking and following, but also persisting in that, continuing in that.

In John 15, Jesus instructs his

disciples to remain in me, and I also will in you abide in me, he says.

In Colossians 2, he says, as you received Christ Jesus, continue to walk.

So as you began your journey, as you took those first steps,

continue to walk in him, continue to put on Christ.

And so there is not just an initial action, but a continuing action.

And this is all pointing to just the simple reminder for us that discipleship

is not a class that you attend or a room that you sit in to talk about Jesus.

It is a functional way of life as we take step after step.

And it's a direction that we walk as every step is becoming,

we're becoming something new. We're becoming someone new.

We're putting on this new creation that our old self is passing away.

And that this new, every step we are putting on this new self that we are created

to be and that we are created as.

And as we walk with Christ, we are walking into a new identity.

And the outcome of this, this process of discipleship, thusly, is this new person.

And this is the way I'm going to say it this morning, which is a little different

than perhaps you've heard it said before in this church or in other churches.

And that is that being a disciple is someone who knows Jesus,

who follows Jesus and leads others to do the same.

And you might have heard it put differently, you might have heard it in a slightly

similar way, but the reason I want to focus on these particular words,

because I think it captures the fullness of the Great Commission.

And it focuses it on the intent of what Jesus is trying to command us in a more

holistic way, that we would know Jesus, that we would follow Jesus,

and that we would lead others to do the same.

Another way that I like it defined that I just wanted to ask these questions

for and not spend too much time on is a disciple is someone who is desperate

for God, surrendered to Jesus, and obedient to his work.

So it's a slightly different way, but the reason I want to mention this is because

I just want to, I want you to sit with those questions as we continue this morning

is, are you desperate for Jesus? Are you desperate?

Are you surrendered to Jesus?

Are you surrendered? Are you obedient?

Do you know Jesus? Are you following Jesus? And are you leading other people to do the same thing?

This is what it means at its core to be a disciple in the sense of what we do,

but we could also define a disciple in, in regard to what a disciple should look like.

What are characteristics that we can look at and say, if I am a disciple of

Jesus, these things should be growing more and more important to me and in me.

Now I just want to look at Psalm 15, if you have your Bibles to open up to them, to Psalm 15.

And this is just one place. It's not, there's certainly many more we could look

at, But I think it begins to answer that specific question of what is a disciple in terms of.

What does a disciple look like? What are the characteristics?

Not necessarily just what a disciple does.

A disciple knows Jesus, follows Jesus, and leads others to the same.

But as you become and know, this is what we should be shaped into.

This is the Psalm of David. He says, who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord?

Who may enter your presence on your holy hill? The ESB says,

who may sojourn in your tent?

Who can dwell on your holy hill? So this is abiding in Jesus' language.

Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from

sincere hearts. I love some of the other translations.

Your translation might say, who speaks the truth in their own heart or to their own heart.

So this idea of the word of God being so integral and central to your being

that you are speaking it to yourself, that it is overcoming your thoughts,

that it is the heart of your cry,

that you would know and speak the truth in your own hearts.

So the centrality of the word of God as he is invading your spirit.

Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends,

right? Righteousness, goodwill.

We could use the word, we'll get there, I guess, but we are growing in our love for other people.

Those who despise flagrant sinners and honor the faithful followers of the Lord

and keep their promises even when it hurts.

That we are growing into a people that hate sin. We hate sin in our own lives.

We hate the effects of sin in this world, but we love people.

So we love people, but we hate sin.

And more than that, especially we despise the sin in our own lives.

And that we honor and we lift up those who fear the Lord, that we care for our

brothers and sisters, that we are encouraging them in their next steps toward

Jesus. We are building them up.

I love the phrase that, keep their promises even when it hurts. I think the ESV says that.

It's not promised, but something to their own hurt swears to his own hurt and does not change. right?

So it's like, whether or not you realized you were doing something that didn't

benefit you or hurt you, and then you continued in it because it was your word,

or you purposefully live a life that is obedient to God, regardless of whether it benefits you.

There's this obedient language here.

It says that those who lend money without charging interest and who cannot be

bribed to lie about the innocent. Such people will stand firm forever.

That we are becoming people who are increasingly more generous.

That we are coming to people who increasingly care more about those around us

who are in need and are hurting and are broken.

And I said, this is not an exhaustive list. In some ways, it's kind of an high

overview summary that we can begin to have some of these definitions of,

if I look at my life, not only am I becoming the question, am I desperate?

Am I obedient? Am I surrendered? Those are great questions to continue to ask ourselves.

But also, am I increasingly becoming more generous? Am I increasingly becoming more loving?

Am I increasingly becoming more aware of the people around me who need Jesus?

And I am speaking the truth to myself in such a way that God's thoughts are

replacing my thoughts and therefore my thoughts for others.

And the words I share for others are increasingly becoming God's words as well.

These are questions as we continue down this journey for ourselves to be asking,

and then as a church to be asking this as well.

As I mentioned, we're all being discipled, so it's important for us to ask,

are we creating disciples,

the type of disciples that we are aiming to create, who are becoming more generous,

who are devoted to prayer and to fasting, who are surrendered to Jesus,

who are sharing their faith more regularly and consistently,

who are involved in the lives of others around them in a deep and intimate way.

These are questions that help us to define how we are moving as we continue

to build this plan for discipleship, what our lives should be about.

And there I just want to pause for a second and want to invite Marlene to come up.

And she's going to share a little bit about her experience with discipleship,

and then she's going to read a great commission for us.

You want to stand here? We'll all hear you. Thanks for letting me speak,

Zach. Yeah. Yes, he glad.

I'm trying to. My name is Marlene. Wow, the speaker works great.

So Jenny asked me last night to just speak a little bit about my experience with discipleship.

I came to Mountainside a year ago, I believe September 2024.

It's been a year and some change. And then we started discipleship immediately

a couple of months afterwards.

And fast forward to a year later in November, I got baptized and decided to

commit my life fully to Christ.

So that's the transformative aspect of what discipleship has done for me.

It is definitely a very intentional process.

I think I just had a heart for the Lord. and fortunate enough to have these

ladies who spoke love and truth daily into my life.

And I think that was a very beautiful experience for me.

Just being their presence and being inspired about their steadfast love for

Jesus really made me dive deep and just have a more intimate relationship with Him.

And so I think it's a great opportunity for anyone in here, whether you're just

new to the Bible or if you're a seasoned believer, it's a great opportunity not to just...

Build more intimacy with Jesus, but also just to share and live life with those

in the church and just to build a more intimate relationship with the people in our church.

Yeah, I think the way that I've done a 180 with my life has spoke for itself.

I look at life differently now and it's really renewed my heart and my mind

in the way that I see my friends and family and the way that I choose to love

and honor them and honor God.

So I would say do it if you are interested.

On that note, I want to go into Matthew 28, if you guys would like to join me, verses 18 to 20.

Then Jesus came to them and said, All

authority in heaven and on earth has been given to

me therefore go and make disciples of all

nations baptize them baptizing them

in the name of the father and of the son and of the

holy spirit and teaching them to obey everything

i have commanded you and surely i am with you always to the very end of the

age thank you marlene i think one i mean one testimony we're gonna expand on

this a little bit but just very obvious is for all of us who know Marlene,

she's a fairly quiet person, but I feel like the confidence you have to share

in this point versus a year ago is so drastically different.

So even just that, but what, what I want to continue to share on as she read

the great commission and what that means for us is that the promise here is life transformation.

And if we continue just to do things that we've always done,

we can be assured that we are walking in faith, but the guarantee isn't necessarily life transformation.

So what we want to focus on here is that as we pursue Jesus together in intentional

ways, and I'm going to give you a framework for that, what God promises us is life transformation.

And we can look at our lives and feel like we're not being transformed and we're the same.

And sometimes that's false because we are failures to see our own,

the ways we've changed and others can see it more in our lives.

So we need that encouragement from others to realize that we've been changing.

But so there is that, that we are changing and we should celebrate that.

But there is so much more that God has for us.

And that's why we are going to continue to talk about this as we go through

the year, as we go year after year.

Discipleship is only going to be something that we talk more and more about

because Jesus' words to us here are embodiment of what he demonstrated and lived

as well, to make disciples, to go and to teach them to obey everything I've commanded.

And I want to stick to that more simplified definition that I gave,

to know Jesus, to follow Jesus, and lead others to do the same,

I want to frame it in that regard, because this is the heart of the Great Commission

of who we want to become and who we are becoming more and more,

that if we look at discipleship, this life transformation,

Jesus says, go and make disciples, teaching them, telling them.

It involves this idea of,

What I want to say is, teaching them today everything I've commanded,

right? That discipleship begins with Scripture.

It's rooted in the Word of God. It's not built on a book study.

It's not based around a book of Christian living.

Those things are all good and can be supplemented into something.

A lot of discipleship groups, what they'll do is they have their central Scripture

plan, and this is kind of what we do as well. And then you could add a book

or two a year on top of that.

But the priority is always going to be scripture.

And it is necessarily word of God centered. It has to be the one singular foundation.

And that's because the word of God reveals who he is like nothing else.

If this is a question that we can talk about with this culture and the world

as it is today, as it was then,

as people are prone to scoff at the idea of a God and say, well,

if God doesn't exist, but if he did, we couldn't know him.

And then if we just ask the question, if God does exist, how would you know

about what type of God he is?

And the response, the reality is, is the only way we can really know the truth

about who God is, is if that all supreme being tells us about who he is.

And so we get to know who he is through his own revelation about his character.

That's why I love passages like Exodus 34, where God is some of the sweet times

where God literally says, this is who I am.

I am a God who is loving and steadfast, and I am forgiving. I am full of forgiveness,

but I have to punish iniquity.

We get to know about God because he reveals himself through his word.

It's necessary because God forms us and how we live through his word as well.

He says, this is who I am. And then he says, this is who I want you to be.

Actually, more than that, he says, this is who you were created to be and who you are.

And I am making you more and more into it. And so through God's words,

God's word, we are led to transformation.

And so discipleship groups must be foundationally centered on the word of God,

on scripture, on teaching to obey everything that Jesus has commanded us.

And with that, he also, just in the same way that discipleship is not the same

thing as a book study, discipleship is also not the same thing as what we might

in the church call a Bible study.

It involves a study of the Bible.

But if all you ever do is sit in a room and talk about the Bible and talk about Jesus, this.

Then any disciple you may accidentally make as a result of that,

or as we instruct our kids, if that's all that they ever see from us and all

that is ever demonstrated to them, then all they will ever know how to be and

do is be someone who sits in a room and talks about the Bible.

But the discipleship requires not just transmission of what Jesus said,

but obedience to what he said.

He said to teach them not just about what I said, but to obey all that I have commanded, right?

And so it is also necessarily action-focused. And it involves obedience not

as an option, but as the goal.

The application of our knowledge. And that obedience is in some ways the evidence of discipleship.

We see James writing about that in chapter one when he says,

don't merely listen to the word, but do what it says. Be doers of the word, right?

Discipleship always moves from hearing to responding to living differently.

God, if you read through the Old Testament, especially if you read through it quickly,

what you will see is God constantly telling his people that this is how I want you to live,

not because I want you to be weird, because I want everyone else to see that

you are set apart for me and so that they can know who I am.

So intentionally throughout the entirety of scripture, it's about living differently,

living in a real faith that reflects real repentance and real decisions.

It encounters real courage, real obedience.

And again, it's the application of what we know, not just Bible study.

It's knowing and it's equally following. It's knowing Jesus and it's following

Jesus as we continue on that language journey.

But also it is equally so. So if it's a recipe, we have three equal parts,

knowing, following, and leading. It is equally so spiritual.

Not just making steps towards Jesus in a private, isolated environment,

but it involves other people.

And just as Jesus is instructing his own disciples here in this moment to go

and make more disciples, he is leaving a message for anyone who would be called

a disciple of Jesus to go and make disciples.

And so it is never private.

And as I've said before, and perhaps we'll say again, that the message is through

this, that the gospel has come to you because it was headed to someone else.

And that is intentionally said not for you to be discouraged that Jesus doesn't care about me.

Obviously the gospel came to you because God loves you and cares about you,

but it was never meant to be the final end point.

The gospel has come to you because there is someone else around you that needs it.

And so as we look at discipleship, it's never private.

In 2 Timothy, Paul writes that for what you have heard me say,

entrust to other people, you're going to take it and then entrust it to other people.

They're going to be responsible and reliable to share this and pass it on and

not just let it die with them.

And so discipleship is not just to be a disciple, but to be a disciple maker as well.

And if we're not including multiplication, which I hate that word and I can

explain why, but that's neither here nor there.

It's the churchy word right now, multiplication.

But if we're not including replication, if we're not including reproduction,

then it's an incomplete discipleship, is kind of the idea here.

It requires these three parts to it.

And this is what Jesus modeled before he ever commanded it.

And this is what theologians across the years have argued, that Jesus was forming

a people who would embody God's kingdom in the world, that he formed them.

He said, follow me. He said, be with me. He said, learn from me.

And then he also said, do what I have done.

So that we would grow into a people who know Jesus, follow Jesus,

and are leading others around us to do the same thing.

Jesus discipled in proximity. It was necessarily intimate.

It was life on life. It was small enough to know one another,

as Marlene was sharing, that you have these same people. yes,

you meet weekly, but that you're showing up for each other, Dave,

and that you're encouraging and you're challenging.

And ideally, as we kind of wind down just to give this framework now,

ideally our discipleship groups at Mountain to the Side would be of four people, a disciple maker,

a co-leader, and then two people that are also being discipled.

That way, when the 12 months or the 18 months or the 24 months or whatever that time frame is, is over.

One disciple maker can take one of the disciples and replicate the process with two other people.

And the other can take the other and replicate the process. Because if you're

not doing that, what I found is,

depending on your personality, it can be easy to just get a few people and read

the Bible together and be intimate with each other, even to share the depths of your heart.

But if it's just three people, or if it's just this,

then it's really easy to not be as intentional in this from the beginning idea

that we are to replicate and do this with more people.

So ideally our group should be of four people, that scripture would remain central.

And we have reading plans. Last year.

We read the New Testament through one chapter at a time.

And to be honest, the reading plan this year isn't going to change too,

too much, depending on where your group is, if it's just starting or this or

that, or who the people are.

There are different options that are available that we'll offer.

We decided, we figured out that, you know, reading the four Gospels all together

sometimes gets really repetitive.

And so you get less excited and then you get more excited. And so we've mixed it up a little bit.

So you're not just reading boom, boom, boom, and then moving on,

integrating some Psalms into that. And so we'll provide these resources.

But it is, is scripture is to remain central.

Obedience is to be expected and leadership passing it along is what we're going to be practicing.

And like I said, so we have some options, but here is the framework that I want to give you.

This is what discipleship looks like or what we do as we meet.

This is what we do as we read on our own and as we come together.

And what I want to give you is an acronym so that it's easier to know.

This is not something I made up. So confession, I stole it from somebody else.

But I like this one the most out of any that I've seen.

And I'll explain why as we go. But the acronym is MAPS, M-A-P-S.

And the M stands for meditate and memorize.

And this is part of the reason I like this acronym more because it's not simply

just to read, but there is an intentional internalization of what we read.

There's an intentional letting it come back into our thoughts throughout the day.

Rather than checking off our reading list and getting it done for the day,

there is this intentionality to let it be with us, to sit with us for longer.

This meditate and memorize.

And I'll say that as we get into spiritual warfare, we're going to be utilizing lots of verses.

Obviously, there's more verses in the Bible than just one that has to do with spiritual warfare.

But one place that will be central and home for us for the next five or so weeks

will be in Ephesians chapter six.

And so we'll practice together as a family as well, saying that passage.

Actually, I want to invite you guys to, again, stand up, sorry.

And let's read that together because the hope and belief is,

is as we spend time in this scripture together over and over again,

even if you're not intentionally trying to, which I encourage everyone to,

there is some aspect of memorization that takes place. So let's just read this together.

Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,

against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness.

Against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand

in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the

breastplate of righteousness, and as shoes for your feet, having put on the

readiness given by the gospel of peace.

In all circumstances, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish

all the flaming darts of the evil one.

And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit,

which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication.

Yeah, so y'all can be seated. But even just repeating that together weekly is

a way, a practice of it being internalized.

And so as we get into this discipleship process, this idea of meditating,

of memorizing scripture together, of letting it get in us, as we read in Psalm 15,

speaking the truth into our hearts regularly, daily, weekly.

This is the idea of M for max.

A is apply. I mentioned that discipleship is necessarily action-based,

that it requires obedience.

And obedience is a measure of discipleship. And so we must be applying these

words into our lives as we read them, that they would shape us into being better

husbands, into being better wives, into being better parents,

into being better employees,

into being better, you name it, in this world.

Better gospel kingdom citizens, right?

So A in maps is apply.

P is pray that we can, one, turn the scriptures into our prayers as we are reading them.

And two, that we can be praying over each other and just integrating this habit of prayer and fasting.

And what I wanna frame it more than that is cultivating a reliance and dependence on Jesus.

So pray is the word for that.

And praying is the way that we do that and fasting, but F doesn't fit into the word maps.

So pray. And then S, share that discipleship involves passing along.

You've heard me say in the past, framing discipleship as breathing.

That if we breathe in and all we ever do is breathe in, then we're going to die.

And if we only breathe out, we're going to die. It is a necessity for us to

breathe in, to speak, to let God speak into us.

And it's also a necessity for us not to hold it in, but to share and let it out with others.

This is the same idea that discipleship necessarily involves sharing it to,

as we said before, know Jesus, to follow Jesus, to obey Jesus,

and then to lead others to do the same, to share.

So this is the framework for discipleship.

And this is what I hope that we are catching a vision for more and more,

that we're being excited for

more and more as we hear these stories and we celebrate these victories.

And I just want to ask these questions as Bree comes up and leads us in our

time of closing, but what kind of disciples are we forming?

Who is being discipled in that way? Is it you? It should be.

Who are our disciple makers? Is it you? It should be.

What practices are shaping our lives? Prayer, fasting, generosity. I said that word weird.

Generosity. regularly and consistently sharing your faith.

Intentional discipleship will transform your life. Somebody turn the lights back on.

It will recreate you as you work out your salvation in fear and trembling alongside

your brothers and sisters. That's the promise of discipleship.

And here's the vision and challenge for us, that every house,

every home, every hurting person, every broken person deserves a chance to respond

to the gospel in our community and around us.

And every person in this church, this community, this family can become a disciple-making disciple.

No matter how afraid we are, no matter how ill-prepared we believe ourselves

to be, no matter how incompetent and doubt-filled we may be,

every person here can become a disciple-making disciple.

And to see that happen, and even in this small mountain town in North Carolina,

in that discipleship's not complicated.

It's intentional.

It requires obedience. It's communal. You just keep showing up.

You keep showing up for people.

And the more we surrender to him, the more we surrender to Jesus,

the more we are becoming like him.

So it's deciding on purpose to walk with Jesus and then bring others along with us.

And this is what our lives should be about. This is what your life should be about.

That we would know Jesus, that we would follow Jesus, and that we would all

be leading others to the Lord.