September 25, 2016

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So good to be back and to see everyone here and all the fellowship during the greeting time. I know everyone many folks here. Probably a little happier because Kentucky won yesterday. That was a pleasant surprise for everyone. I think a good job. We won't mention who you play next week, Tennessee won yesterday, which was exciting for me by halftime. I had given up hope I think that I hung in there. They had a great second half but we also play Alabama and other big challenging teams in the next few weeks. So we're all in that same lot, but that was exciting that Kentucky one yesterday and Tennessee also want to thank everyone for the for the prayers for my mother. She's doing very well as many of you probably know last Friday. She had emergency admitted to the hospital and then on Saturday had stents placed in her heart and that procedure went very well. She got to come home on Monday and LeAnn hung around during the week and was her nurse for a few days a wonderful daughter-in-law. My mom bless her heart only has three sons. So there's times in which she thinks all men. I wish I had had a daughter but she has a wonderful daughter-in-law who hung out with her this week and helped her some So we really appreciate the prayers and support my brother surprise us all and went into the hospital Friday for emergency surgery. So it's been a big week for my family needs Tennessee. He is home resting on pain meds and goes back on Thursday or Friday this next week for a second surgery. So I keep him in your prayers and I just want to open up us up in prayer because not only all of us could probably share family was dealing with health issues. But but our nation is dealing with health issues. Our world is even with the craziness of the election the craziness of violence in our culture. It's a difficult time and one person said in history that sin is the one of the main empirically verifiable doctrines, you know, you could open the newspaper and say wow Humanity struggles to do the right thing at all times and and we could list. All across the board all layers of society you could easily said oh, well, there's where that group totally ignores God and sends it and here's where that you know, no one Romans 3, no one stands in a position of righteousness before God. We're all Sinners and fallen short. And so we need we need so let's let's let's go to the Lord in prayer now before we open up the word and spend some time in scripture father. We thank you that. That you invite us to come to you.

Just as we are.

No exceptions.

No special qualifications you invite any and all to turn to you and prayer.

Father we not only lift to you the prayers that are on our hearts for family members and friends and loved ones.

Lord we also pray for our city.

and our nation and our world

We occasionally and weeks like this get a glance perhaps of the pain you feel when you see sin on the Earth. And the way we hurt one another.

That's a lord our only hope is in you. We can have a million elections and elect a million different people and no man or woman is going to solve the human dilemma of sin. We need you.

We need you in our lives and in our hearts and our city and our nation.

And Lord, thank you that when we turn to you we find your grace and your love and your patience and your instruction and your challenge and your rebuke.

Until we open our hearts this morning.

We know that were part of the problem.

Our own sins are on selfishness. It hurts our marriages. It hurts our cities and our nation's and so father. Show us the way. Work in our hearts work in our minds work through our hands. And your name we pray? Hey, man.

Well, we're in a sermon series this morning that that kind of fits with what we just prayed about about being disciples following Jesus. And so we were talking about three big themes follow believe and Obey and the past couple of Sundays. We've talked about following Christ and we're going to talk a little bit about believe this morning, but most of that's going to come next Sunday cuz I want to continue to talk a little bit about following Christ a disciple is someone who follows Christ How's that for a simple straightforward definition of discipleship leadership one thing we've been talking about for the past year or more and especially emphasized think this year is our desire to be a church that helps people grow as disciples and help people invite others to be disciples. And that's been on our heart. You may remember back in June we talked about it very simple idea of the 10-second rule what it means when when you know, when you're convinced what you're reasonably sure Christ wants you to do then do it in the next 10 seconds before you talk yourself out of it, whether it's be generous with someone else or confess a sin or repent or confront when you're convinced God Is providing you the holy spirit is leading you it's in line with scripture than act and no Bank. That's the essence of discipleship and we can say it this way or disciple of someone who follows Christ. Let me sound simple, but there's a lot of things that aren't said in that definition. It would not be accurate to say a disciple is someone who knows things about Christ? It would not be accurate to say is a disciple is someone who attends church.

But you see how sometimes we don't Center in on the Beauty and the Simplicity of what scripture teaches is that a disciple is someone who follows Christ? That's the definition of being a disciple the issue is not what you know, or how long you've been a Christian or I often you attend church, but rather are you following Christ?

I don't know about you, but it's easy to slip off that definition and think in terms of but I've been a Christian for this many years. I've attended church for this many years. I've gone to this many Bible studies I could teach and tell preachers are the worst at this. We just think if I could just get one more degree or read one more book or this next seminar or conference. It's going to change the world and turn everything around so we are constantly Market at 2 because we are suckers for that. Just one more thing when really the essence of discipleship is as simple as following Christ. Am I acting on what I know? You've heard it said before that for the most part of North America Christians are educated Way Beyond their level of obedience. Because we slip off the rails of the Purity and the Simplicity of the definition of being a disciple into this idea that will I have to know a certain volume and so we just kind of keep going to Bible studies and going to Sunday school and going to small group as an end in and of themselves we check that off our list and we think that's what it means to be a disciple you show up you show up at church you show up if you're really going to stop at Sunday school and church and if you're even a better disciple you show up at lifegroup Sunday school and church and if you're like, excellent you do all those things plus you show up to serve and soap dissipation in these activities can almost become a substitute for the Simplicity of saying to be a disciple. means to follow Christ

because if you're following Christ, and then that booze is out into all of your life your checkbook your marriage your parenting your neighborhoods your in-laws. I mean, it just really becomes your following Christ. Could there be disciples without regular church activities? Yeah, could there be disciples about church buildings? there was for the first 300 years a lot of things we think of as the essential or the essence are actually things we've added over the centuries and at its purest disciples were created disciples began when Jesus said to someone follow me. And I did. Guess what you had there wasn't even a LifeWay Christian bookstore that time. It didn't even exist. There wasn't even a church building at that time. The Gaithers weren't around Maranatha didn't exist. There wasn't Beth Moore studies. The one all kinds of mission organizations and yet there was still a disciple because all it takes for disciple to exist is Jesus Christ who exist yesterday today and forever and someone who says yes to the invitation from Jesus follow me. Boom. You have a disciple it's that simple but sometimes we reverse the order I think and make it more complicated what we talk about the past couple of weeks is Matthew 9 where Jesus invitation to a tax collector and that's how you have to say it. You almost have to spit when you said we talked about that tax collector. I remember the movie If I Stay in the movie Stranger Than Fiction with Will Ferrell, it's a great movie. I really like that movie. And even today we have that same Spirit tour Tax Collectors because there's a scene where he goes into a bakery and announces that he's there to audit this young lady that runs the bakery and as soon as she makes it loud enough cuz she doesn't like me to call your the taxman. You're here to audit me everybody the bakery starts going to put his tax man because he's a tax man. Multiply that times 100 and by the way, let me just say as a little bit of a site and a side if you were here last week. And you're a used car salesman. I apologize to you. I'm in the market for used car. So I just I don't want to be in that same campus Caleb I listen to his sermon about that man. And I do you get hung up on one thing and he's really just slipped out really quietly before the service is older. It doesn't even compare. It doesn't even compare attacks man in that culture was a million times worse than what we think of as a used car salesman. He was betraying his country and his people and so Jesus invitation to this tax collector Matthew in a book written later by Matthew. So he did accept the invitation to follow any titled his book The Good News.

about Jesus according to Matthew that invitation was simple and gracefield. Jesus song Matthew this tax collector this person who would say I'm the last person who merits and invitation to walk alongside the Savior. I mean, I am the last person and Jesus comes up to him looks at him. Just follow me.

Adidas interesting what Jesus didn't say? There was no pointing out of Matthew sins. I mean we be tempted to think in that what you're supposed to do. I mean you encounter somebody who's just we're not talking about a subtle sin. I mean he was this flagrant. rejector of God I mean if you want to be one of those guys who's written a best-selling book about atheism is the way and gods no good. The first thing we're going to want to do is say hi buddy. Let me tell you all the things you got wrong. And Jesus had every right to say to Matthew you're supposed to be. My people you're supposed to be the next event. You would trade your people if you betrayed your country, so now you're cheating everyone that comes through here for ejected. He could have listed off all these sins and he didn't.

There's a lot of us who want him to a lot of us who want to correct Jesus. Jesus you got it wrong. You meet somebody like that the first thing you need to bring up. Its how wrong they are. But Jesus didn't point out ass and he didn't demand repentance. Again. Jesus is very much in danger of heresy, according to many of our personal standards about what Christianity religion and the Bible is all about but guess what Jesus Trump's us. So he he didn't demand this repentance for Matthew. He didn't say I look Matthew you can follow us but here's the deal if you're going to follow us. Once you got to stop doing what you're you can't keep being that way. You got to stop issue. You got her pants. You got a list of things. You know, what if you agree if you promise to go to synagogue every week and start giving money back to Israel. Quit stealing it from the people here is the list of none of that. I mean that really is simple and gracefield He just said follow me. There's a lesson in that for us. If we're like Jesus in our invitation to others. All we have to do is invite them to follow Jesus.

Sometimes we think all I got to get this person to 38 lessons. I've got to get him in Sunday school. I got to get in life group. I got to get him reading the Bible that got to learn this and we get all these things that have to happen first and it's almost like Jesus in part of the process. That instead we're inviting them to follow a system that we're all part of instead of just saying the invitation is to follow Jesus and I believe and trust that Jesus is a real living person alive today existing today. When I invite somebody to follow Jesus that's not just some lines and secretly I have to go put on a costume and be Jesus because he really doesn't exist. He's going out alive. Somehow. I've got to make sure they get in the religion flow of the church. Jesus is Alive and Well when you invite somebody to follow Jesus, that's a real invitation. And you don't have to put the burden on your shoulders of doing everything for them or feeling responsible for them cuz you're inviting them to meet and know and follow the Living Lord.

That's what your vitamins do not religion not Christianity not a set of doctrines.

The Jesus changed everything when he came in the gospel and was who he was and priest what he preached and John said it this way who knew Jesus perhaps the best out of all the disciples when you think of the end of John's gospel when Jesus is departing John is the one he says, will you take care of my mother? What does that mean about how well, you know somebody how well do you have to know somebody if you know you're going and your mother needs to be taken care of for you to say then I want you to take care of my mom. That means you know that person you trust them and trust them with your mother. I mean that's a very cliche definition of knowing that John who knew cry so well wrote these words. He said for the law the law was given through Moses and we're not under the law anymore. We're not under the old Covenant anymore or the Old Testament were only under the Old Testament in the ways in which Jesus and the apostles bring it forward or pointed out to us be on what Jesus and the apostles model or do or teach. We have no business going back and think how they left something out. Let me fix Jesus's deficiencies hear John says for the wall in the Moses that for the wall sheets before the law was given through Moses Grace and Truth came through Jesus Christ and think about following God. We've got it wrong. Remember we talked before About the passage where the man is blind and Jesus gets ass by his disciples Amelie who sinned this man or his parents. He says neither neither that was one of dozens of momentum, which day is correcting false understandings about God. They thought if someone was born blind faith in God was punishing that person else where they talk about somebody's wealthy clearly. They're blessed by God if they're wealthy Avenue correcting constantly correcting false understanding about God and they still exist. In a plentiful fashion in the church today until Christ is always our source. Our Authority is Divinity his lordship trumps everything and so John said look law was given through Moses Grace and Truth came through Jesus.

Then he continues he says no one has ever seen God but the one and only son who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the father has made him known that's pretty clear to me. Does anyone have greater authority to reveal the character of God's than Jesus Christ? No one no one is it looked Along Came to Moses? But Jesus who is God himself that alone is is is kind of impossible for us to completely understand and who is also close to God the father. He no one else has ever seen God. So don't let any television preacher ever sell you some idea about God that if you give a certain amount of money, he's going to bless you or if you don't he's going to punish you he's a heretic. Okay, Jesus is the authority on God the father and how the universe works and how God the Father works. And so Jesus being God himself been closer to God than anyone and he came and revealed got made God known to us. I told him we slip into that false thinking like the disciples hats. Well, maybe if something bad happens that's God punishing that perfect higher preachers preach that it is heresy. It contradicts Jesus Christ that has no place in the church and their people who appreciate well that bad thing happens because that's God punishing that person. That's some of the false teaching the Jesus corrected in his life and Ministry. Jesus came and made God now for the blessings. Like I said the other was that persons being blessed their wealthy everything because God is just showing Prosperity on them.

Jesus came and made God known to us so he's the source. So why so simple why just an imitation to follow him? I mean the instinct is to say shouldn't Jesus have roll out at least a single sheet of stuff or some sort of chart or something. Here's the deal. Here's the charts in the grass in a few memorize. These are you learn these are these passages are this understanding? This is the secret you don't spill it when I so simple. Why would he just say to Matthew and you see that pattern throughout the gospels? Anybody who's read the gospel sees this pattern for Jesus just says, hey, call me. You know, I want an Astrid down there with the author of The Gospel sinks. Well, Jesus, of course didn't just say follow me and let us tax collector parts. Of course. He said well, first of all Matthew you got to start doing that learn this and come to that and do this, but you don't get that little after there's this Simplicity to it just an invitation to follow him and I think there's some answers to that. One God made us all and knows exactly what is needed to restore all the world. That's an assumption. I operate with that God. The father is the creator of everything. That's what Genesis 1 is all about. He's the author of all life, not only this creative universe but of every living Soul every person everybody knows their creation to God the Father until he made us all and guess what since he made us all he knows exactly what path to lead us back to be restored to him. Does that make sense? He knows what you need, but I need to be humble and say wait a minute maybe God the father knows more than I do about human nature about the human heart about Good and Evil about righteousness and send about restoration and Redemption. Maybe he knows it all because he trade it all and he even sees to the end how he's going to redeem us and restore us and so we trust Jesus as God In the Flesh as they Anyone who's seen the father as the one who's closest doesn't bother to come and demonstrate what it means to be a disciple what it means to follow him what it means to be restored. So one logical I think about it. He gives an invitation because relationships must be voluntary. This is why Jesus doesn't just come and give a command now. Some of us are tempted to think that Jesus should have just come and given a command and there's whole theologies in the church that say that God has already predestined who's going to be saved and who's not going to be safe. But it's all about God's Will and not about free will or human will and that is unbiblical. How many times in the gospel does Jesus say if any person will follow me let them. Pick up their cross and follow me. The gospels are just thick and Rich With Jesus offering what an invitation and invitation. It wasn't a follow me where Matthew just went. I have to follow you. I have no choice now. It wasn't that robotic thing because foundationally from Genesis on we see that God wants to restore the broken relationship between humanity and him and relationships have to be voluntary for them to be real and true. I have to willingly give my friendship to someone that's what makes it significant that I have a choice and I'm choosing that person. And so foundationally the reason Jesus gives an invitation to follow him is because it needs to be volunteer for to be rich in truth. We could go down the whole path of this this addresses the issue of suffering and evil. Why does God allow because he allows Humanity Free Will during this time. There are humans who use that free will to do bad things. And God doesn't clampdown. He is restrained is sovereignty for this season so that Free Will can exist so that choice can exist so that people can hear the gospel and make a decision to follow him. So we're in a season in which he's restrained is free will again,

You can you can disagree with me. Don't there's so many bad theology out there though. It drive me nuts. I mean, I'll be at the hospital bed and then somebody else will come in and say well this was just God's will you know, you must have done something wrong you don't and I just want to get up and scream. There are many many things that happen in this life that are not God's will.

We live in a universe that currently Free Will exist. So God will God's will is temporarily forwarded for this season? Because Free Will can exist people can take up arms and do horrible things to one another. People can can can self inflict pain through bad choices and they can get disease and end up in the hospital. They can be selfish and destroy their marriage has free will exist. And God is not the author of all that he is not the one causing all that and so there's a lot of bad theology that something have a well God must of just cause that you know, or God needed one more little angel in heaven. I mean, there's times in which I just want to say, I think about it for a moment God's heart is broken over the pain in our world. And what he Longs for is that we would hear this beautiful gracefield simple invitation to follow him because the path of following him is a path of restoration a path of goodness and righteousness a path of returning this world along with all of us back to a place of Grace and love and peace. It's an invitation because relationships must be voluntary. He invites all because he truly loves all you know. I'm I'm obviously not a calvinist. That's the predestination camp and and you can disagree with me on that because you can be wrong theologically on some issues and still get in heaven. So that's absolutely fine. Ricky. It's wrong and still get to heaven. Thank the Lord for his grace that we're not going to get a theological quiz beyond the Divinity of Christ and our trust in him about whether we're getting into heaven or not, but he invites all because he loves all that's a deep conviction of mine. That's why I can't go down the path of Calvinism because it says some lives matter not all lives matter and I believe from Genesis to Revelation. It's clearly communicated that God created all and loves all and invites all That terrorists who makes horrible decisions because of the false thinking and Doctrine in his mind the one that were tempted as good Americans to want to hate and wish horrible things upon. Is a child of God whom Jesus died for let me loves and Christian should stand out as those who offer love. I mean just be honest with you even some of the politics and immigration issues. I know good Christians can have different perspectives on that disagree on it, but sometimes the spirit in which the argument happens. really weighs on my heart And it makes me say Josh. Is that the spirit in which Christ would? Sometimes we draw our national borders.

What's stronger ink than the Heavenly Realm? And in this world is temporary and if you got to know me personally, you know what happened to be politically conservative, but the Lord keeps working on my heart at some key points and saying you know what? gospel Trump And sometimes it runs right across both political parties and says you're both clueless on some issues and challenges us to have our eyes open to a larger Kingdom. And so God invites all because he truly loves all invites us to follow him first because our rescue flows from being near and like him not from one-dimensional mental consent or legalistic task completion. The reason the invitation is following me is because salvation Gods rescuing us the way that fruit is born in our life is as we are like Jesus and near Jesus as we walk with him as we learn with him as we were with him when somebody says hey who send this guy or his parents that he was born blind and just us know that's the wrong way to think about a God doesn't function that way and challenges us as we're walking with Jesus through life. As we're trying to learn to follow him. That's when salvation is being born and I live he begins to change our heart toward others it begins to change our heart toward our self. It's not simply mental consent. We can say Okay, I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. That's it. Can you answer a marriage where somebody says look right? I love you, but just leave me alone. Now. I want to live my own life. Sometimes it's our faith. Is that why we like I got to say if you want to make the confession of it. I got baptized now. Leave me alone. tell me I should do this or did I just want to that's not really a love relationship is it? If you can't really make it that simple mental content and you also can't give me a list of things to do and I'll do them because it has that same sort of detached Spirit. What's the minimum 10% I'll do that. You know if I can get those out of the way, then I can just get on with my life. Jesus invites us to follow him.

That's discipleship being a good member of the church being involved in all kinds of activities those don't equal discipleship. Discipleship is following Jesus. In the way we vote. In the way, we spend our money in the way we treat our in-laws. and the way we treat our kids and that way we deal with national issues.

Sometimes the church is guilty of again looking after our own interest. supposed to trusting The Living Lord He's alive and we can trust him. He can take risk we can love others. We can quit holding on to our talent keeping it buried so to speak but it's dead. We can invest it or talk about this we talk about this in Colossians that again the languages that Christ is in us and we are in Christ crisis with us and we're with Christ. It's that sort of closeness that represents what God is doing to create salvation in our life to Bear the fruit of us being reconciled to God and to him Paul says this way in Romans to he says or do you think lightly of the riches of his meaning God's kindness and tolerance and patience not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance. So the reason is an invitation to follow as the first place it's because being with God knowing god being around him experiencing his kindness is what turns are hard for him. It's not just purely doctrinal consent where we get some paper words on a paper with a all can I consent to that? It's not just trust in a Doctrine and it's not even just trust in the message of Jesus is trust in the person of Jesus. about the invitation There are say that maybe there's Christians who trusted in the message of Jesus for decades. Maybe not encounter Jesus himself. Not trusted him as a living Lord. Whom they can lean on and depend on. Belief in Jesus grows in relation to following and knowing him I think of the movie with Bill Murray What About Bob baby steps that they said steps. Jesus invites us to follow him in some ways as a baby step. He didn't say to Matthew. All right before you can follow me. You got to get your head around all this you're going to probably lose your job. Probably lose most of your friends. Can I change your finances completely? You're actually not going to jump right back into Judaism, but follow this whole new religion where I'm the Lord and he didn't just dump all that on Matthew and say get your mind around all this and then follow me. He just said follow me. trusting that has Matthew experienced Christ as he followed him as he saw the way Christ lived and acted that his belief would increase He would understand more and do more in the same invitation is for us. We sometimes we report our own spiritual growth because we keep waiting to understand everything. We think we need to know spiritually before we take the step of following Christ and it's in following him that he teaches and matures and educates us. So the longer we wait so well as soon as I get one more thing in order one more thing started one more thing and then I'm going to step out we're actually defeating that spiritual growth that we long for because Jesus educates us all along the way it is as we go that he teaches and changes us when we take that step because guess what he's going he's doing he's not back there with us. I'm sure I'll just sit here. I won't do anything until you're ready. He's doing and going and he's working in the world. About God the father and John 5. The father is working and I see where he's working and I joined him. It's within the trusting in that step of following that would begin to learn more. You see this in John 6 as the disciples followed Jesus their belief increased against the law for first. I've got to believe and then I will follow but in the New Testament you see juice again again saying Hey You Follow Me? You didn't give him a Bible study or lesson or this sermon or like I said, then challenged him to repent or understand. Everything fetuses start following me. Because Christianity is not about a certain belief to the right set of doctrines. It's about following a person. It's about following Jesus Christ. And so he says to those follow me follow me and as they follow they learn more more more and John 5. Jesus is teaching and he's teaching such a hard and difficult sermon that many that are listening get up and say we can't handle this we're leaving and so they depart him until he turns his own disciples because they're kind of mumbling among themselves. Are you going to leave me till you're going to quit following me to these others were following they heard this challenge. They said no more for us. You've been following I can tell that you're worried about this. Are you going to quit following me to do my favorite passages of scripture. Peter says are you kidding me? Where else would we go? We have come to believe that you are the Holy One of God. See they had followed him from that very first invitation when he said follow me when they didn't know everything didn't understand everything but as they saw him do and live and teach and heal and perform Miracles their belief increased over and over. It's a Peter was able to say we have come to believe that you are the Holy One Of God know next week if you want to look ahead. I'm going to look at Romans 3:21 226 and look at a core passage about belief. What kind of beliefs did the disciples and the apostles Teach as a result of looking at Jesus life and what he did what what came out of new test for what came out of the letters that sang this is essential because of Jesus we came to these conclusions about God and the universe and sand and humanity and we're going to delve right into belief next week in Romans 3 Will close with this the worship team can come up now if they lie again, the issue is not what you know. Right, can somebody follow Jesus as soon as he says to them follow me? That moment happens all throughout the gospels. He says follow me and they follow him. There's no there's no Gap or pause a way. You can't follow your you're deep in the Judaism is the whole new thing or your your Greek or Pagan? You can't do that. You're a gentile. You can't see that's the man. They thinking and Paul had to correct that again again again again to the New Testament. You'll hear Paul Saints. Look, there's neither Greek nor Jew there is neither male nor female. There's neither slave nor free in Christ. All that is obliterated. What there is is all the people on the face of the Earth whom God made and loves and the invitation to be restored to be reconciled the invitation that comes in a simple words follow me. And so it doesn't matter what you know, or how long you been a Christian or often you to ensure but are you following Christ? That's the essence of it?

the grace of God applies both to our failure to follow and our failures when following if you thought about that. None of us would say well you can't convert. You can't follow Jesus. You're not a Christian. We would say no, that's the gospel will be preached the gospel hits to all people anyone who can hear and believe that's the nature of the grace of the Gospel that somebody who has not made that decision somebody who doesn't know Jesus somebody who's not a Christian not been raised the church didn't know anything about it. They can hear the good news. They can encounter the living Christ and they can respond and say I want to follow up with anybody here try to stop somebody from following Jesus, but one core value that we get very well. I mean, when did mad if somebody did it seem like that's really right. Now. I want to be a Christian. I want to follow Jesus from the right family or background or you don't know enough the rest of us to say Hey, you you're the one that's out of line. We believe that deeply and we get that right this conviction that the grace of the Gospel means that anybody can hear the gospel in fall, but sometimes I don't think we realize that that Grace continues to exist in our life. Doesn't save us by Grace. It's okay now that you're saved by grace Here's the fix. Here's the catch now that you're saved by grace. You got to walk by law. But sometimes we think that way we need to be reminded that this grace of God that applies both to our failure to follow him that conversion moment when we hear the good news and we decide I'm going to follow Jesus it apply for that moment. But it also applies to our failures and following is anybody here ever felt like they failed at following Jesus. If I hear fail after you became a Christian. You became a Christian and your bunghole and then you woke up if I hadn't that's like I've been in a fog I haven't really thought hard about discipleship and sometime or I haven't really prayed for my sister-in-law still just angry if that person I'm holding on to it and said they realize I'm not doing a very good job of following Jesus the Same Grace that I sure says into the kingdom by invitation Usher's asked to follow again and again by a grace-filled simple invitation.

The water is Grace. champion

and even if you fail miserably even if you say I'm going to follow Jesus and you got today and you do something and it is a royal failure. God will be more pleased than if you didn't do something. His grace will cover that failure and he'll invite you to learn and go forward again. What night is frustration with with the servants? The one that buried the talent because he thought I'm scared of you Lord. I you're a you know, you're demanding, you know, and so I buried it and here it is. Just the way you are preserved it Lord. Horse words come out of that mouth of Christ. He says you Wicked lazy servant. He's pleased with those servants who took the risk. To get a return on the investment. It's okay. If you are Christian and you've not been following Christ, or you been following him, but you know, it's like two steps forward and three steps backward kind of thing. I want to say Amen great job. You're doing a fantastic job cuz you're following Christ. That's what it means to be a disciple. Doesn't mean you're going to follow in perfectly. Does it mean you're going to follow him without ever having an error? What it means is you're going to keep following him. And when you stumble and fall and fail your going to seek his forgiveness and you're going to learn a lesson and you're going to get up and follow again, that's what it means to be a disciple. someone who follows Jesus

So if you're Christian I bought you this morning to it to redouble that decision in your heart so to speak. And let the past be the past. Let God's grace be his grace on you. Know that your failures and your siblings are forgiven. You get a fresh start like you just converted this morning. Can you go out today to say I'm going to follow Jesus? Harder better and choosy when you fail royally. Play Lorde. Working my hardworking my life change who I am help me be the kind of person who can fix it. Help me know and do and feel the things and Thursday when you realize you forgot that promise you go to the Lord again.

Do you walk with him in this relationship where he offers Grace and forgiveness and instruction and rebuke? Can you keep growing as a disciple? What you must never do is find the idea that you should stop following because you're not an instant success. That's the adversary who wants to say while I'm no good at this. It must be for other people or I'll just settle for something that's short of being a disciple. I'll just try to be as good as I can and hope for the best.

He invites us to follow him. If you've never made that decision As we sing this song in just a moment. If you're if you've never made that decision I invite you to accept the grace of the Lord. Allow him to forgive all your path and follow him and be part of the solution in your own life the struggles and the pain that you have God wants to work in the direction of Solutions on those things that hurt and part of the solution in our city and our nation and our world.

Because God wants to redeem the whole world restore the whole world and he wants to do it through the local church.

And I've argued with him about that like all of us have three dozen times. What are you thinking?

I think since he made us all he knows the best way to do it and we trust him and follow him.

Toby Fox available for prayer both in the front and the back. I'll be in the back. If you want prayer have a decision to make please take this opportunity As we sing this song please stand?

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