Disciples Making Disciples

I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but I will be preaching yet again in Matthew.

! We're just trying to squeeze all the juice out of this thing, you know?

But if we preached on the last passage already, then what am I going to be preaching on?

Today's sermon will be out of the norm as I'll be preaching on the same exact text as last week,

but really just focusing in on two words, two key words that we want to lead the church in.

And those two key words are make disciples.

To make disciples is what we want to lead the church in.

So I'll be preaching more of a topical, applicational sermon this morning,

really building off of Sean's expositional sermon from last week.

And we don't want to just fly over this quickly,

but we want this command to shape us as a church,

to infiltrate the culture of our church,

so that when people think of Trinity Cambridge,

they don't just say, oh, the music's really good,

or the people are really friendly.

But when they describe us, they would say,

man, that church is a disciple-making machine.

But regardless of whether we preach a topical or expositional sermon,

the best of what I have to say, of what any preacher has to say,

it really just comes from God's word.

So today, even today, it is right and appropriate for us to open up our Bibles

and to hear from him.

Let's open up our Bibles to Matthew 28,

Matthew 28:16–20

verses 16 to 20.

If you are in need of a Bible, a physical copy,

feel free to raise your hand,

and we'll be happy to get you a Bible that you could take home with you,

use for now.

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's word.

Heavenly Father,

this is your church.

these are your people.

I pray that you would speak to us

and address us from your word today

so that we feel the call

to be faithful to our ministries,

to your church,

to your people.

that as you've commanded us to make disciples,

that you would stir up a fire,

a passion,

a desire

to do that,

to do that very thing,

to make disciples of Jesus Christ.

Father,

I pray that you would

help us

to see rightly

that we are small,

we are insufficient for this task,

but that in this time

that you would expand

our vision of you

so that you would not be a small God

but a big God

and a God

who has promised to use us,

broken vessels,

weak vessels,

but nonetheless,

you have assured us

that you will be with us

until the end of the age

and from that,

we feel the confidence

to be able to go forth

and be faithful

to the call

that you have,

you have,

you've called on us,

you've placed on us,

Lord.

We pray that you would

help us to be faithful

disciples to the,

to the little sprouts

that you have put in our midst.

In Jesus' name,

we pray.

Amen.

To honor God's word,

let us rise,

if you are able.

Starting off in Matthew 28,

Matthew 28:16

verse 16.

Now the,

the eleven disciples

went to Galilee,

to the mountain

to which Jesus

had directed them.

And when they saw him,

they worshiped him,

but some doubted.

And Jesus came

and said to them,

all authority

in heaven and on earth

has been given to me.

Go, therefore,

and make disciples

of all nations,

baptizing them

in the name of the Father

and of the Son

and of the Holy Spirit,

teaching them

to observe all

that I have commanded you.

And behold,

I am with you always

to the end of the age.

This is God's holy

and authoritative word.

Please be seated.

I don't think

what I'm about to say

is overstated

or sensational.

We have a discipleship

crisis

in American Christianity.

We have a discipleship

crisis

in American Christianity.

For the past couple of years,

Ligonier Ministries

and LifeWay Research

has teamed up

to conduct

a survey

to figure out

what do Americans

really believe

about God.

Specifically,

they targeted

and focused

on a group

who have self-identified

as

evangelicals.

And so,

this is our camp.

These are our people.

But yet,

hear what the state

of their beliefs are

from a survey

from last year.

To this statement,

God accepts

the worship

of all religions,

including Christianity,

Islam,

Judaism.

47%

of evangelicals

agree

to that statement.

Half

of evangelicals

believe

that you could be

a Muslim,

you could be a Jew,

and believe

that Jesus

was not God,

believe that Jesus

did not die

for our sins,

to the acceptance,

to the glory

of God.

Everyone sins

a little,

but most people

are good by nature.

It's another statement.

More than half

of the Christians

surveyed,

53%,

don't think

that you need

the atoning

sacrifice of Jesus

because you yourself

are good enough.

53% would agree

to that statement.

Or every Christian

has an obligation

to join a local church.

One third,

one third

of confessing

evangelicals

would disagree

with that.

One in three

think that church

is just completely

unnecessary.

And it's not just

basic theology

that we are lacking in.

We also lack

faithful obedience.

Scripture teaches us

that it is more

blessed to give

than to receive

and to live a life

of radical generosity.

And yet,

it's surveyed

that less than

or more than half

of evangelicals

give less than

1% of their

annual income away.

And it's no secret

that the church

has a pervasive

problem with

poor news.

In other surveys,

64% of born-again

Christian men

and even

44%

of women

admit to

struggling with

pornography

regularly.

Or take

divorce and

remarriage.

A Barna study

found that

born-again

Christians

divorce at

the exact

same rate

as the

national

average.

It's virtually

indistinguishable.

And those

statistics can

paint

Christians

in a bad

light,

but it doesn't

tell you the

whole picture.

Because what

the data

does not

tell you

is that

those

in the

church

who are

spiritually

engaged,

who are

active in

the church,

consistent

in Bible

reading,

they have

radically

different

numbers.

As an

example,

the generosity

levels among

evangelicals

who read

their Bibles

daily are

582% higher

than those

who never

read their

Bible ever.

One national

study found

that young

people who

rarely or

never attend

religious services

saw their

pornography use

increase nearly

twice as fast

as those who

attended frequently.

Or sociologist

Bradley White

writes,

analysis shows

that the number

of divorces

is nearly

double for

those who

are disengaged

in the

church versus

those who

are actively

engaged.

So what

do those

numbers tell

us?

It's the

same population,

those who

are self-identifying

as Christians,

as evangelicals,

and yet their

differences could

not be more

pronounced.

One group is

not actively

being discipled

while the

other is

being actively

discipled by

the church,

by scripture,

by the

ordinary means

of grace

that God

has established.

And their

differences cannot

be more pronounced.

The investment

shows these

two groups

produce wildly

different fruit.

So I think

that tells us

that we have

an incredible

dearth of

deep discipleship

in the American

church.

church.

The solution

then to

reverse this

crisis is

rather simple.

We are to

make disciples

and we are

to do it in

Jesus'

way.

By the

grace,

by the

power of

Jesus Christ,

our chief,

our great

discipler,

we are to

make mature

disciples of

Jesus Christ

by teaching

them to

follow

everything

that he

has commanded

us.

That's the

main goal

of my

sermon,

to help us

do that,

to be faithful

to that

call.

So to help

us understand

how to

make

disciples,

we are going

to survey

scripture to

answer these

three simple

questions about

disciple making.

What does it

mean to

make disciples?

What do we

mean when we

say that?

Why?

Why do we

have to make

disciples?

disciples and

how?

How can we

practically,

even this

very week,

make disciples?

The Great

Commission is

the foundational

text that

has fueled

mission efforts

all across

the world.

And rightfully

so.

To make

disciples means

that we must

share the

gospel and

by the power

of the Spirit

lead them to

make public

profession of

their faith by

getting baptized.

Acts 14,

21 also uses

the same

verb to

make disciples

to describe

Paul and

Barnabas as

they travel to

the city called

Derbe.

And they

preach the

gospel there

for the very

first time.

So integral

to disciple

making is

evangelism,

right?

Outward

discipleship.

And time

and time

again you

have heard

from this

very pulpit

the application,

the call

to be bold,

to overcome

our fear

of man

and to

share the

good news

to our

unbelieving

friends,

neighbors,

our families.

We talk

about evangelism,

we pray

for evangelism,

we teach

about evangelism,

we allocate

church budget

towards evangelism.

Evangelism is

an indispensable

part to

fulfill the

Great Commission.

but evangelism

alone cannot

capture the

totality of

what it means

to make

disciples.

For the work

of discipling

does not stop

when someone

gets a little

wet when they

get baptized.

If you remember

last week,

Sean helpfully

observed how

the main

verb in the

Great Commission

is to make

disciples,

right?

That's the

main command,

the main

imperative,

but it also

has all these

other words

around it

to explain

what it means

to make

disciples.

You have all

these verbal

adjectives,

right?

Going,

baptizing,

and the third

and final one

is teaching,

to teach.

At its very

core,

what discipling

means is to

teach,

to teach

our disciples

to obey

what?

All that

Jesus has

commanded us.

We are to

obey,

we are to

teach them

to obey

every single

one of

Jesus'

commands.

But how

can they

obey his

commands if

they don't

even know

them?

And how

are they

to know

them if

we don't

teach them

from his

word?

So we

ought to

teach people

what

and how

to obey

Jesus

in accordance

to God's

word.

But the

word provides

more than just

the what's

and the how's

to obey

Jesus in

everything.

But arguably

more importantly,

it teaches us

the why's.

Our disciples

need to have

a robust

theology

and an

understanding

of who

God is,

who we

are,

what sin

is,

what righteousness

looks like.

They need

to be able

to see

and understand

the world

in the same

way that God

sees and

understands

the world.

In other

words,

they need

to be

discipled

to have

a biblical

worldview

and a value

system,

not just

one that's

imported in

from the rest

of this

world.

And that's

precisely why

Paul says

in Romans

12 too,

Paul teaches

us,

not to be

conformed to

this world

but be

transformed

by the

renewal of

your mind

that by

testing you

may discern

what is

the will

of God,

what is

good and

acceptable

and perfect.

The Bible,

you guys know,

isn't a

rule book,

a handbook

that tells us

exactly what

to do in

every single

situation.

But if we

are steeped

in the word

of God,

if our

disciples

have the

word of

God part

of them,

if it's

part of

their natural

reasoning

and thinking,

then they're

going to be

able to

discern the

will of

God and

obey him

in all

scenarios.

And so

the word

of God

not only

informs,

but it

actually

forms us

into mature

disciples of

Jesus Christ.

But it's

not just

teaching them

to know

rightly,

but they

have to

love

rightly.

Jesus

claimed that

all of

the law

can be

summed

up

into

two

simple

commands.

To love

the Lord

your God

with all

your heart,

soul,

mind,

and strength,

and to

love your

neighbor as

yourself.

That's the

whole of

the law,

to love,

to cherish,

to treasure,

to adore

Jesus with

every fiber

of your

being.

That's the

whole of

the law.

And so

if our

disciples,

if we are

to teach

our

disciples

to obey

everything

that Jesus

has commanded,

it must

entail

passing on

to others

an adoration,

a treasuring

of Christ.

Well,

I could

teach theology,

I can teach

doctrine,

but how do

you teach

someone to

love something?

We do it

all the time.

Why do

you like

that band

or that

sport?

Or that

hobby?

Perhaps you

really got

into it

yourself,

but I'd

bet for

a lot of

us,

a lot of

what we

love is

because we

saw someone

else love

that thing

first.

They walked

us through

why baseball

is a

beautiful game

and why

violin is

just a

beautiful

instrument.

Sometimes

you need

to watch

someone love

something so

that you

can love

it yourself.

And that's

the effect

that we

ought to

have

in our

disciples.

Because

really without

it we

lose all

power for

obeying.

I love

this analogy

from this

author,

Barry Cooper,

who imagines

a dancer.

She's

dancing

beautifully

with poise

and style

and grace.

More

importantly,

she's

dancing

with so

much

joy.

You can

just see

it right

on her

face.

She's

just lost

in the

moment.

And you

look a

little closer

and you

figure out

why.

She's got

some earbuds

in.

And she's

listening to

the music

that she

loves the

most in

this world.

she's

totally

captured

by what

she is

hearing.

Now a

second person

comes in

and she

watches the

first person

dance and

she's so

compelled

that she

thinks to

herself,

gee, I'd

love to

dance like

that.

So watching

her, she

tries to

mimic her

moves,

her style,

her grace.

And maybe

it works a

little bit at

first, but

there's a

clear difference

and a

clear problem.

She doesn't

hear the

music.

The music

isn't driving

her dancing.

And so the

movement is

clunky,

hesitant,

self-conscious.

It doesn't

really seem

like she's

enjoying

herself.

And so

all in all

she just

quits.

She packs

up her

bags and

goes home

while the

first one

is still

going strong.

Cooper

continues,

making

disciples

of Jesus

Christ falls

short of

its goal.

If all

that we're

telling people

to do is

to copy

our moves,

study the

Bible,

go evangelize,

fight sin,

go to church,

pray more,

while we do

relatively

little to

help them

hear the

music,

the beautiful

music that

must drive it

all.

It's the

song of

Christ,

a love

and an

adoration

of Christ.

If we

are teaching

disciples to

obey everything

that Jesus

has commanded,

it must

entail

teaching others,

helping others

to love,

adore Christ

for who he

really is.

For without

hearing that

music,

they're never

going to

last.

And so we

have knowledge,

right?

We have

knowledge that

blooms into

love,

that finally

ought to

produce the

fruit of

obedience.

We don't

just make

hearers of

the law,

but we

make doers

of the law,

the whole

law,

not just

the easy

commands or

our preferred

commands,

but all of

Jesus'

commands.

We teach

them to

obey.

And there's

a really

part of

your life

where you

can hang

up a sign

that says

does not

apply.

Jesus'

commands

does not

apply here.

How we

should parent,

how we

should spend

our money,

how we

should relate

to our

boss at

work,

Jesus has

given us

commands to

obey,

and so we

teach others

to do it

all faithfully.

So in all

things,

we seek to

make well-rounded

disciples.

By what?

By addressing

a disciple's

head,

heart,

and hands.

Head,

heart,

and hands.

Without

neglecting

any,

you have

to address

all three.

If you

only address

the head,

making sure

that your

disciple

thinks all

the right

things,

then you

end up

with a

malformed,

bobble-headed

disciple.

One that's

good at

Bible trivia

or theology

quizzes,

but has

no love

in his

heart or

service towards

others.

If you

address only

the heart,

making sure

that your

disciple feels

all the

right things,

then you

end up

with a

malformed,

big-hearted

disciple,

full of

feelings,

but easily

carried about

by every

wind of

doctrine,

easily

discouraged,

easily

deceived,

or only

really acting,

one that

acts only

when he or

she feels

like it.

if you

address the

hands only,

only making

sure that

your disciple

does all

the right

things,

then you

have a

malformed,

busy-handed

disciple,

one who

just does

a bunch

of stuff

without

really

knowing

why,

or without

any love.

Like a

three-legged

stool,

we cannot

take one

leg without

the whole

thing toppling

over.

And so

this is

our goal,

to do

what Paul

writes,

when he

writes in

1 Corinthians

1.28,

him we

proclaim,

warning

everyone

and teaching

everyone

with all

wisdom

that we

may present

everyone

mature

in Christ.

To present

our disciples,

to help each

other be

mature in

Christ,

is the

goal that

we strive

for with

all our

energy and

effort.

That might

sound like a

lot to hold

together,

but don't

let that scare

you off from

this desire

to make

disciples.

And I love

how Pastor

Mark Dever

puts it

simply.

It's simply,

disciple making

is simply

helping others

follow Jesus

by doing

deliberate

spiritual good

to them.

And with

that broad

kind of

definition,

there really

is no

single strategy

in making

disciples.

From taking

an unbeliever

believer to

a mature

believer.

And so

much of

what goes

on in

the life

of our

own

church,

of many

local

churches,

is fitting

in that

definition,

is making

disciples.

You are

discipling

others at

community group

when you share

a helpful

insight,

or when you

model vulnerability.

You disciple

others in the

church when you

model how to

pray, when you

go to prayer

meetings, when you

go to the

Wednesday prayer

meeting, or

pre-service

prayer.

You even

disciple others

when you

simply show up

to church and

sing as

passionately as

you can to

the worship of

God and other

people can hear

that.

And so I

believe all,

most if not

all of you

already engage

in some form

of discipleship,

and you do it

so well.

But this

morning I

really want to

highlight a

particular form

of discipleship.

And it's

the one-on-one,

one-on-a-few,

life-on-life

discipleship.

When you

think of an

example of

a disciple

in Scripture,

who do you

think of?

I guess that

many of us

would first

think of

Jesus'

twelve

disciples.

When Jesus,

the eternal

word of God,

God in the

flesh,

he decided

to begin

a new

religious

movement that

would spread

to billions

and billions

of people,

changing the

course of

world history

as we know

it,

how many

people did

he think

to call

first to

disciple?

It was

twelve.

It was just

twelve people

over three

years.

Not only

that, but

even within

the twelve,

he had an

even more

select group

with the

inner three,

Peter,

James,

and John.

Then you

have examples

like Paul

and Timothy.

Spiritual

father Paul

invested in

Timothy from

a young age,

really as a

father figure,

calling him

my true

child in

the faith.

He brings

Timothy

alongside him

on missionary

journeys.

He gives

him direct

and personal

counsel on

doctrine and

character.

He gives

him a lot

of leeway

and a lot

of room

to just

explore ministry.

tree.

He gives

him real

responsibility.

Moses

and Joshua,

Elijah

and Elisha,

Priscilla

and Aquila

and Apollos,

examples of

this kind

of intimate,

highly

relational,

intentional,

life-on-life

discipleship is

woven throughout

scripture.

And really

that kind

of apprenticeship,

highly relational

model of

discipleship is

the exact

kind of

practice,

the early

church adopted

and implemented,

integrated into

the culture of

their church.

And so

making disciples

requires this

level of

focused investment

in just a few

people.

That's all you're

called to do,

just invest in a

few people.

Why?

And why does it

require only a

few people?

Because they

know,

we know,

that making a

disciple is not

like manufacturing

a rushed,

mass-produced

item sold on

Timu for a

buck.

But making a

disciple is

more akin to

the work of a

master craftsman

who is painstakingly

slow,

intense,

careful.

He pours his

heart into

this labor.

If it's that

much work,

though,

to make a

single disciple,

then why

would we ever

want to do

this?

First,

making disciples

is required

for all.

When I first

joined staff

here at

Trinity,

one of my

first personal

projects,

I guess,

was to

come up

with a

discipleship

program.

The gist

essentially would

be to come

up with a

training program

where we

would hand

select and

train a

specific group

of guys and

girls that we

present to the

church as

quote-unquote

the disciples.

If you wanted

to be discipled,

then great.

We have this

list.

Go and ask any

of these girls,

any of these

guys.

And as the

pastoral team

and I, we were

just wrestling

over that plan,

we believe that

the Lord led

us not to

implement that.

And I'm so

glad that he

did.

Because looking

back, I think

it might have

just reinforced

this false

belief that

disciple-making

is just

reserved for

the elite,

for the all

mature, the

all wise,

the Christian

superheroes.

Rather,

making disciples

disciples is a

non-negotiable,

non-optional

task for every

single one of

us.

Put simply,

disciples make

disciples.

To be a

disciple of Jesus

Christ, you have

to be making

disciples.

Don't just take

it from me, but

hear scripture from

Ephesians 4.

Paul writes that

he gave the

apostles, the

prophets, the

evangelists, the

shepherds, and

teachers to equip

the saints for

the work of

ministry, for

building up 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,

so that we may no

longer be children

tossed to and fro

by the waves and

carried about by

every wind of

doctrine, by human

cunning, by craftiness

in deceitful schemes.

Christians, what is

the ministry of the

apostles, prophets,

evangelists, shepherds,

and teachers?

It's not that they

are to do all the

ministry themselves.

Rather, their

ministry, Sean and

my ministry, is to

equip you for

ministry.

Do you know that

you, Christian, yes

you, you have a

ministry that you

are responsible for?

Do you speak like

that?

Do you use that

kind of vocabulary?

Do you feel

responsible for and

pray for your

personal ministry?

Today, we stand on

the shoulders of

faithful men called

the reformers from

over 500 years ago

who saw very

clearly ministry is

not limited to just

the priesthood.

And Bible reading

and Bible teaching

should not and

cannot be limited to

just the priesthood.

No, no, no.

They saw that if a

church operates under

that belief that it's

only the priesthood who

is to do all the

work, really, then

that church is an

anemic shell of what

it could be.

It is an atrophied,

disjointed, unhealthy

body.

But this is what a

healthy body is

supposed to look like.

Paul continues in

Ephesians 4.

Rather, we are to

grow up in every way

into him who is the

head, into Christ.

When each part, when

each part is working

properly, makes the

body grow, so it

builds itself up in

love.

When each part, each

part is growing

properly, then the

church flourishes.

When each joint comes

together held together

by love and a mutual

desire to help each

other follow Jesus, then

we will grow to a full

stature in Christ.

That's really what a

culture of discipleship

can do in the life of a

local church.

Secondly, why should we

make disciples?

Discipleship can change

someone's life.

Why?

Because we are far more

impressionable than you

might think.

You might even consider

yourself to be.

Every conversation that

you have with somebody,

every time you model

behavior for someone,

they are, even just a

little bit, shaped by

it.

Daily, we are

discipled by the people

around us.

the messages that we

hear and the screens

that we watch.

We pick up thought

patterns and ideas and

passions and loves and

patterns of speech and

even little habits from

the people that are

around us.

But the reality is that

as Christians, we don't

live in a neutral world.

We live in a world that

is ruled by the power, by

the prince of the power

of the air.

An enemy that he is

doing all that he can to

disciple us away from

Christ.

What are you discipled by?

What are you discipled by,

friends?

I can guarantee you that

the American church lacks

maturity and they gave the

answers that they did in

that earlier survey because

they are more discipled by

TikTok influencers, novels

like The Shack, and their

Enneagram numbers than by

their pastors and

scripture and their church

members.

But what is then the

lifeline that we have as

Christians in a world that

is doing all that it can to

destroy our faith?

It is simply the

discipleship of the church

through the word.

You can have that kind of

life-changing impact on

somebody.

Helping them follow Jesus

better.

And it's a myth.

You don't have to be an

expert.

You don't have to have a

seminary degree to have this

kind of impact.

Pastor Tim Challies, he makes

this helpful observation.

The reality is that the great

majority of the help people

need or the counsel they

seek do not require the input

of experts, but merely of

someone who loves God and

has their Bible open.

Does it not astound you that

God is so kind to use weak

vessels like us that you

could have that kind of

outsized impact on someone's

life?

And honestly, I am a great

example of that.

I am exhibit A of the benefits

of discipleship.

I'm not much.

But what I am today is by

the grace of God through the

ministry of specific men who

have invested in me.

In me, if there are any right

thoughts, any right loves,

any right actions, it's simply

because I caught that.

I saw it modeled.

I had it taught to me.

I owe my life to the numerous

men who have discipled me.

Maybe one off, two off,

reaching out to me, buying a

meal, asking me how my walk

with God is going.

And I owe my life especially

to the few specific men, both

pastors and non-pastors, who

have deeply, intentionally

invested, poured into my life,

talked with me for hours on end,

who've dealt with my stupidity,

who've answered my questions,

who have laughed with me and

cried with me.

The reality is I hardly knew

anything when I first came to

Trinity.

Sean and I reflected a little

while back on a conversation we

had when I was first beginning to

be discipled by Sean.

And I told him how I felt like I

know so little of scripture.

I don't know anything.

I don't think I could be a

pastor.

I don't think I could pass these

ordination exams.

I think you got the wrong man,

Sean.

But I passed them.

And I was ordained predominantly,

I want to say, because of my bi-weekly

Saturday morning meetings with

Sean.

Honestly, I have been shaped

more, formed more as a

disciple and as a husband and

as a father by those morning

meetings more than just the

seminary classes that I'm taking.

Looking back, it's astonishing to

me how much that I could answer

on my final oral exam at

ordination simply on the basis of

just remembering what Sean said that

one time.

My own life has been transformed

by discipleship.

And God in his kindness could use

you in the same exact way for

another.

Speaking of church leadership,

making disciples is the leadership

pipeline.

That's why we do it.

Where else are we going to find our

next pastor?

Where else are we going to find our

next missionary?

Our next deacon or deaconess?

Our ministry leaders.

Establishing the culture of

discipleship in our local church

is setting up the necessary

pipeline to be able to call

faithful men and women to the

work of ministry.

Unless you feel like this

application of making disciples

internally pulls us away from

making disciples externally, I'd

really just argue that it does the

very opposite.

The church cannot make progress

externally to the ends of the

earth unless internally we are not

making disciples mature enough to

go.

Outward mission and outward church

planting, we have big dreams for

that as a church, but that all

depends on inward discipleship.

So maybe you are convinced that as a

disciple of Jesus, you need to make

disciples.

I hope you even want to.

But you still nonetheless have this

nagging feeling.

This is way over my head.

The excuses fly too easily off the

tongue.

I'm way too young for this.

I don't know much.

I'm not a good speaker and I'm not

even a good enough Christian.

I'm not impressive.

Why would anyone listen to me?

That position of humility is

appropriate.

Who is adequate to make even a

single disciple of Jesus Christ

teaching them to obey all that he

has commanded when we can't even do

it ourselves?

What qualifies a sinner like you and

me to be able to do a work like

this?

What qualifications do you have?

What qualifies us is not our skill,

our righteousness, our knowledge,

our personality, our wit, our

education.

But what qualifies us is not what we

have done, but what Christ has done

for us, brothers and sisters.

Because Christ has died for our sins.

We are no longer the old sinful man or

woman, but you.

You are a new creation.

You were once enslaved to sin and

trapped in the patterns of this

world, but in place of what was old,

Christ brought something new.

And gospel transformation has

overtaken your life, flipped your

life upside down.

He has taken the heart of stone that

was in your heart for, what,

decades, and he's replaced it with a

heart of flesh so that it's soft

towards him.

That you love him and obey him.

That's what qualifies you.

What qualifies you is not that you are

an impressive, put-together Christian

that has all their ducks in order.

But that qualifies you is that when you

approach Jesus, you do so rightly.

Prostrate before him, grabbing not even

his torso or his legs, his feet humbly,

desperately, you approach in the right

way.

That's what people need to copy.

That's what people need to model after.

We want them to capture that vision and

see Christ as the glorious God.

What qualifies you is that Emmanuel,

God with us, that he's promised to be with

us to the end of the age in verse 20,

that he is in the business of making

disciples, that he is the one who does the

magic of disciple making, that he is the

one who does the heavy lifting.

1 Corinthians 3, I planted a Paulus water,

but God gave the growth.

So neither he who plants nor he who waters

is anything, but only God who gives the

growth.

So knowing that discipleship is not about

you, it's not about you.

It's not, you're entirely replaceable.