On Earth As It Is In Heaven

James Smith

Who's Your One? • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

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Consider what comes to mind when you think about:

• Bald fat guy

• an exercise fanatic

• a millennial

• A democrat party follower

• A republican party follower

• The greatest band ever - U2

• A homeless person

• A rich person

• A sinner

Odds are you have certain mental associations with each, right…. Some good…some not so good….some associations you wish had not popped into you head …. Some disagreement ….

Or some disagreement that should not have popped into your head - like a disagreement about the greatest all-time group ever….everyone know its U2……

Now, what comes to mind when you hear the word “Christian?”

Odds are you associate that word with certain characteristics as well.

Andy Stanley says if you ask 10 different people you’re probably going to get at least nine different answers—at least here in America.

If you stop people on the street and you ask them, “Are you a Christian?” You’re going to get some people who say,

• “Well, yes.”

• Some are going to say, “What do you mean?” As in asking for a definition

• Some will say, “Yes, but.”

• Some will say, “No, but.”

• Some will say, “Well yes, but I’m not like ...”

The broader culture also forms impressions of what a Christian is - whether or not they are one.

Some think we Christians are:

• Haters of people

• Narrow-minded

• Judgmental, secretly wanting to see all sinners be sent to hell and are happy about it

The first followers of Jesus didn’t call themselves Christians. It was a derogatory term used by people outside of the faith. They called followers of Jesus “little Christs” or “Christ’s crowd”

Acts 11:26 ends with “And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.”

Here, we see that the first Christians called themselves “disciples.”

Let’s give you some historical Hebrew background concerning disciples

• All Hebrew boys went to Torah school starting at age 5.

• By age 10, all young boys knew the Torah,

• The best students went on to study the remainder of the Old Testament.

• The rest returned home to work in their families’ businesses.

• At about age 17, if a boy wanted to go on and make a career out of religious studies, his next step was to find a rabbi he admired and apply to become one of his disciples.

• When the young boy found that rabbi, he would go and sit at the rabbi’s feet.

- Sitting at the Rabbi or teacher’s feet was his request to learn.

• the rabbi would examine him with questions and put him through a series of tests to see if he was worthy to be his disciple.

• The rabbis could choose the smartest, most talented boys to be their disciples.

• Another reason the rabbis were so picky is that when they chose a disciple, they were choosing someone whom they believed could become just like them—to not just know what they knew, but to do what they did.

• For several years, these young disciples would follow their rabbis, imitating them in every way.

• The goal of a disciple was to be like the rabbi.

In the New Testament, we see the word Christian used three times ….. 3 times in the whole Bible; the word disciple is used 281 times.

Disciple is a far more accurate and compelling description of what it means to follow Jesus and the term equally shows us those that claim to be Christians are not actually disciples of Jesus.

A disciple is a learner….. someone who seeks to learn, to gain knowledge, someone that obeys their teacher, emulates their teacher, simultaneously putting into practice all they’ve learned….and continues to grow

Some who call themselves Christian are seen as truly Christian through their living by word and deed…seeking to be changed by Jesus…..seeking to be more like Jesus… …. are disciples of Jesus… loving God and loving others

There are some that call themselves a Christian are seen as not being Christian through their opposite example…… they live for themselves and not for our Savior and not for the love of others… they are not focused on God… not centered in Him and serving Him and those He loves

Christians live for Jesus, live for others, they love our Savior …. they love others… they ARE focused on God… they ARE centered on Him and serving Him and those He loves

Christians love God by doing what He says …. They follow Jesus . …. they follow His commands….

They don’t just gain knowledge……they live out what they learn……they put it into practice…….

Christians also have an eternal perspective……

Remember the Lord’s prayer ….

Look at Matthew chapter 6 verse 10

“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

With an eternal perspective, Christians seek God’s kingdom, seek His will in every aspect of their lives……. As it is here and in heaven…..

Ed Stetzer in the book “Compelled by Love,” discusses the idea that when we are guided by love, we seek to do God’s will. We have an eternal perspective.

This idea is spelled out in by the Apostle Paul is Romans chapter 13 verses 8-14.

“Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”

In these verses you see that:

• We are not to lust after or want someone else’s husband or wife or the things they have or own….. or lust after anyone or anything regardless of marital status…. no sexual immorality…. no sensuality … we are to keep everything in the one husband-one wife marital relationship

• We are not to murder someone with the evil eye, or hate them, speak ill of them, no gossip, no jealousy, no

• false accusations……no argument or verbal fights just to satisfy your pride…..just to be right……

• And we are not to take what doesn’t belong to us……

- We also see that we: Are to walk according to the commands and will of God… to be righteous because He is righteous….

• we are indebted to love everyone

• We have a debt / debtor relationship to love our Savior and everyone made in His image

• Jesus took the penalty for your sins and died on the Cross for your sins…… Jesus paid the price….. you owe it to God to love Him ……

• Jesus took the penalty for the sins of those made in His image and died on the Cross for their sins…… He did it for everyone…… we owe it to them and to God to love everyone……

We also see that its time that we….. the church….. the universal church ….. all followers of Jesus …… all disciples of Jesus everywhere….. its time that we wake up and stop playing church and get serious about the eternal things… we heard Pastor Jeff talk about it the last few weeks.

• We know from past church studies that is takes some folks to hear the gospel 11 times or so before they make a decision or respond to the gospel…..

• I recently read that it takes 84 “touches” “contacts” “discussions” “interactions” by a church member to reach and disciple someone for Christ….. the universal church as a whole needs the people to get an eternal perspective….

• God’s church needs to recognize the time for Jesus’ return is close….. it could happen at any time

• the time gets closer every second of every minute and every minute of every hour of every day……

• Its time for the church to focus on the things of God instead of always focusing on ourselves…..

We need an eternal perspective…….

• Ask yourself this….”Do I have an eternal perspective and seek to do God’s will first and foremost?”

So far we’ve talk about things that have lead you to contemplate 2 questions. One was asked in the beginning and one a second ago. The questions are:

• “What comes to mind when you hear the word “Christian?”

• “Do I have an eternal perspective and seek to do God’s will first and foremost?”

Please write them down and keep them in mind as I give you a third question.

Here’s the next question:

• “Do you think everyone that fills the pews and seats on Sundays and consistently serves in church are Christians?” (read the question again)

Let me read part of a story for you from Jerry Falwell’s book “Building Dynamic Faith”

• (set up the story - read from/see pages 80-82)

From this story, you see a faithful Jerry Falwell:

- share God’s Word

• he put into practice what he learned

• he prayed

• he sought God’s will

• he had eternal perspective

We also see that even an 80 year old that was a charter member of her church and had attended services every Sunday…hearing gospel centered preaching for years and years… was not a christian… she was not a disciple……

See…. Not everyone that attends church is a disciple

She did though respond to the Gospel and said Yes to Jesus…making Him Lord of her life before it was too late.

And when someone says Yes to Jesus’ invitation, there’s a party in heaven

Luke 15:7 says

“Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

• And we should rejoice as well when someone comes to faith in Christ ……. On earth just as it is in heaven…..

• We rejoice when someone comes to faith at LifeSpring Church though likely not at the level of rejoicing in heaven….. that would be a sight to behold

• Let’s focus a moment on the word “one” from the words “one sinner who repents” that we see in Luke 15:7

• The one and the 99……

• God, the angels and all those in heaven greatly rejoice when one…just 1 ….. just 1 person that does not know Jesus comes to faith…… just one

• It makes me wonder at what frequency does the party happen in heaven

• We would hope its a constant party… never ending… always happening with no lull in the action….. we know its not always happening

• Though there are more than enough people on the planet to make it happen…..

• there are over 7.5 billion people on the planet and 86,400 seconds in a day….. it would take some like 86,806 days or 238 years if one person was saved every second……of course that’s assuming no change in the population over time

• You are one……. one sinner that came to repent and know Jesus…. And is now one disciple…….

• Collectively we are only one….. we are one in Christ as a church body….. a crowd of Christians

• each of us are one believer, one disciple ….. one with Christ

• and there are lost ones all over the world ….. lost ones you work with, lost ones in your families, lost ones that are your neighbors…..

• and it takes one reaching one for the One that saves, for the party to occur in heaven

Here’s another question to write down and contemplate…

“Who’s Your One?”

Jesus had His ones……

Matthew 4:18-22

While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

What do we learn from these verses …. What is Jesus’ example?

1. Unlike the jewish rabbis and their process of selecting the best, brightest ….. Jesus didn’t choose the best…. He chooses the willing

• Jesus calls Peter and Andrew and the immediately follow…. The were willing

• Jesus calls James and John…and the immediately follow…. The were willing

2. Jesus did not test their wisdom to select them

• John MacArthur: “God skipped all the wise of the day! The great scholars were in Egypt; the great library was in Alexandria; the great philosophers were in Athens; the powerful were in Rome. He passed over Herodotus the historian and Socrates the great thinker and Julius Caesar. He chose men so ordinary it was comical. No Rabbis, no teachers, no religious experts...”

3. Jesus chose the B-team because His work in the world wouldn’t come from their abilities for Him, but from what He would do through them.

4. People with a lot of talent and ability would only get in the way because they would never learn to lean on His power. Jesus taught that His power in the weakest vessel was infinitely greater than the greatest talent without Him.

5. God wants to use you in your family, at your workplace. Don’t make excuses that you are not able. He doesn’t need your ability; He requires only your availability.

Jesus doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called.

6. He chose us….we did not chose Him ……

• remember the rabbi’s…. The young men sought them and sat at their feet……. Indicating they wanted to be taught by that rabbi…….

• Jesus does it differently…… He said “Follow me,” ….. and the disciples followed …… they accepted the call as we accept His call

7. Our primary calling is to leave what we have and be His

“Follow me, ... Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.”

• He didn’t tell them where they were going or what assignment He had for them.

• His primary call is not to do something; it is to become like Him.

• To become like Him, you have to know Him. To know Him, you have to know His Word.

• When the disciples left to follow Jesus…. They did 2 things. They left the boat and nets and left their dad’s …..

• Boat signifies their careers… their livelihoods (the way we take care of ourselves)

• In leaving their dads….they left their families…. Their most significant relationships and went to follow their Jesus, Who’s really our most significant relationship

• To follow Jesus, He has to take precedence over both.

• Most of you won’t literally lose your father and mother over Jesus ... Some might.

• For some, God may tell you to change careers. Maybe God will tell you transfer your job to be part of a church plant or leave your job and carry the gospel overseas.

• For many of you, it probably won’t that dramatic.

• But you’ll have moments where you decide which holds greater sway over your life. 📷

8. Jesus gives us the command to spiritually reproduce

“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

• Following Jesus means you subject everything in your life to His lordship.

• You forsake all that He has forbidden and do what He asks.

• Just like He was a fisher of men, His followers would become fishers of men.

• This is an essential part of being a disciple.

• It’s not something that only a few of us do; it’s something that each of us does.

• There can be no such thing as a non-reproducing Christian.

• How do you prove you are a disciple? By bearing fruit.

• And if you are not bearing fruit, you have reason to question whether you are a disciple at all.

- Pastor Jeff talked about bearing fruit in a previous series this year….. remember John 15 verse 8

“By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”

• Jesus tells His disciples how to bear fruit in His famous Great Commission: Matthew 28:19-20

“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.”

Remember … we have a debt / debtor relationship to love God and love others ….. we love God by doing what He commands ….. we love others by sharing the life and love of our Savior…. And making disciples and baptizing more and more more and more….. all for our Savior

In his book, The Master Plan of Evangelism, Robert Coleman said:

“When will the church learn this lesson? Preaching to the masses, although necessary, will never suffice in the work of preparing leaders for evangelism. Nor can occasional prayer meetings and training classes for Christian workers do this job... Individual women and men are God’s method. God’s plan for discipleship is not something, but someone.”

- Earlier I asked you Who’s your One?

• Then I showed you how Jesus made his One’s with 2 sets of brothers (Peter and Andrew, James and John)

• Here recently we learned about the relationship of Jayne and Brenda - we witnessed the results of the Savior’s love through Jayne’s witness… whether it was or was not intentional … it doesn’t matter….. Brenda saw Jayne’s joy, her life, her love, how she seemed to have it together no matter what was going on…. Those are Brenda’s words from last week ….. Jayne’s life was an example to Brenda…. And Brenda called out to our Savior and is saved ….. a party happened in heaven as a result

Who’s Your One?

Over the next 3 weeks we’ll discuss that question along with the others that were asked her today.

• Do you have those questions? I hope you do.

But here the main question for today and through the series….

Who’s you One?

• Who did God place in your heart to pray for

• To love on

• To share life with

• To be there for

• To help snatch them from the fire

• To help them recognize the need to know Jesus before it's too late

• Who is it that God what you to make a disciple….

Who’s Your One?

Pray and ask God that His will be done here as it is in heaven…. And to place someone that does not know Him on your heart ….. Amen