I will start my sermon with this question: Is there any difference between the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ and a religious Christian?
Out of the Biblical references, the word of Christian was mentioned only three time in the New Testaments. However, the word of disciples was used over 260 times in the Bible.
My definition of a religious Christian is someone who writes "Christian" as their religion on their hospital registration form. They know they're not Buddhist or Muslim because they were born into a Christian family. In other words, some people call these kinds of Christians 'CEO Christians. When I appointed Carleton UMC, I met a SPRC chair person. He was funny guy. One day, he told me that “hay pastor Cloud, you know what, our Church has a lot of CEO Christians. When I heard, I said to him, so “You mean, I don’t have to worry about finance of our Church! He was smiling and said we have a lot of members come Christmas and Easter Only!”
The biggest difference between Jesus' disciples and religious Christians is who controls their lives. Disciples see Jesus as the captain of their lives, while religious Christians see themselves as the one in control.
Main Story of the Scripture
Through today’s passages, I will talk about three different personal stories of how God promoted their spiritual growth to become true disciples of Jesus. I will share three keywords with you because God still uses the same methods to promote our spiritual growth.
The first keyword is "being interested" what is the spiritual Christian life that the Bible describes. In verses 29-34, It is John’s testimony of how his spiritual knowledge is growing.
He was taught about the Messiah by his parents and rabbis from a young age. He grew up knowing that the Messiah would come. Now, at around 30 years old, he has learned about the Messiah from people and the Scriptures, but he still does not have personal knowledge of who the Messiah is.
John said in verse 33, “I myself did not know Him, but the Holy Spirit told me that if I see the Spirit come down and remain, He is the One who is God's chosen. He saw the halo of the Spirit upon Jesus. After that he realized that Jesus, His cousin, was the Messiah. He had known Jesus for longtime because they grow up together but never though he is the Messiah.
It is the spiritual growing processes of John the Baptist.
- His ears were open to listen the voice of the Holy Spirit.
- His eyes are open to see works of the Holy Spirit as a sign.
- Finally, He testified through his mouth who the Messiah was.
It is one of spiritual gifts for Christian to discern spirits which is the ability to distinguish between the Holy Spirit and demonic spirits that work with people.
How John the Baptist was received this spiritual gift because stayed in the wilderness, Christians should set aside time to focus on God in their daily devotion.
Immediate Response.
The second step to promote your Christian spiritual life and become Spirit-filled disciples of Jesus is to be prepared to respond immediately when you hear the words of God.
In verses 35-39, John’s two disciples were there when John saw Jesus Christ passing by. At that time John said to them “Look, there was the Lamb of God.” Immediately, two of John’s disciple followed Jesus.
How did those two decide to follow Jesus so quickly? It's because they had always prepared their hearts to follow the one that John had consistently talked about: 'A man who comes after me is the Messiah that God has sent.’
We, as Christians, should prepare our hearts and minds for immediate action! When Jesus Christ reveals his words through His Spirit to us.
Pastoral Changing Process
Do you know how a bishop handles the pastoral change process? The first step a bishop takes is to check a pastor's intention and willingness to move to another church. It is a normal process.
When Rev. Darryl Toddy asked me about my intention to move to Novi Church, my reaction was, 'Yes, I will go.' I responded immediately because I have always prepared my heart to serve a diverse community, not just a mono-cultural but a multi-cultural community.
Preparing your heart is key to discerning and recognizing the works of the Holy Spirit among you. When you prepare your heart, you'll know how to respond when God works in your life.
The moment of Our Weakness to Strength
The last one is waiting the moment of blessing that God perform amazing things to make your weakness to strength. If you want to be better person and better Christian, you should do your best for it but sometime, it is not enough. We need waiting the moment for God’s unexpected divine intervention for our lives.
We can see in verses 40-42 how Jesus Christ came to Simon Peter and changed his life from weakness to strength. Among the two disciples who followed Jesus, one was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. The first thing Andrew did was bring Simon Peter to Jesus. When Jesus saw Simon, the first thing that He did was to change his name from Simon, which means 'a wavering reed,' to Peter, which means 'rock’.
In ancient Hebrew culture, name contain one’s character and identity. The name of Simon has two meanings. One is to listen but the other is like the reed easily swayed and unstable. It was the Peter’s character and personality. When Jesus saw Simon, he changed his name from a reed into a rock.
Changing one's name can mean changing one's destiny and entire life direction. Simon, born and living as an unknown fisherman, had this fate due to his name. When he met Jesus Christ, Jesus changed his name to Peter and made him the first pope of the Church in Rome.
Name Changing
The first meaning of my name was taking up a shining and glorious office in the government but when I was 13, my father changed my name from a shining and glorious position in federal government to a pillar of cloud planted on the earth. What is the image of a pillar of cloud stand on the wildness in Exodus 13? “The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.” I could be politician but my name was changed to be a sign of God for people which means a pastor.
Conclusion
God calls all Christians to live their lives as disciples of Jesus Christ. According to the Bible, true disciples are those who have a clear intention in their hearts to go the extra mile for Jesus Christ.
The spiritual benefit for the disciples of Jesus is clearly mentioned in Luck 15. In these passages, the story of the Prodigal Son is the most popular. However, there is another story that is not widely known to the public. It is the life story of the Prodigal Son's brother. He said to his father, “Father, all these years, I have served you and never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat to celebrate with my friends. What is my reward that I have served you?” Father said in verse 31. “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.”
Disciples of Jesus who go the extra mile for Jesus Christ will never lose their reward because God said that “all that is mine is yours.” All of you who have served Novi UMC will never lose your crown of glory in the Kingdom of heaven.
@ 07.28.24 Pastor Cloud Poy
@ Photo on Unsplash의Sixteen Miles Out
