If you have been with us, over the past few months we have been going through this series of messages in I John under the title Living in the Light. If you remember there are two main messages in I John: The first is found in chapter 1:5, “This then is the message, which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, God is light and in him is no darkness at all.” The second message is found in chapter 3:11, “This then is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.”
For the first two chapters (and I might add – two months), we have clearly articulated the fact that when it comes to God, He has no dark side, no downside, no skeletons in His closest, nothing in His life to be ashamed of. However, you and I do. Yet, in spite of our dark side, downside, and skeletons in our closest, “God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not parish, but have everlasting life.”
God has called us out of the dark to Live in the Light; He has given us a new name; He expects us to Live up to that new name; He also expects us to be a place where His word can abide in us, and it is that Word abiding in us that gives us the ability to live “in the world, but not of the world.” His Word also gives us the tools to identify and mark those who are deceivers and liars – those antichrists who “went out from,” meaning they have had a departure from the Truth of God’s Word.
Today, we are in a little transition period between the first message that “God is Light and in Him is no darkness at all,” and the second message of “We should love one another.” If you have your Bible, please turn with me to I John 3:1-3:
“1Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure
A couple of weeks ago, I shared how God has been working in my heart, how through conversations with our young adults He has opened my eyes to the fact that, although we do a great job of displaying love toward one another – for the most part, yet we really don’t “KNOW” one another like we should. So, I have really been spending some time in prayer and study asking God to help me to be a better pastor, a better leader, but more importantly, how to be a better disciple of Jesus Christ.
For me to be a better disciple, I really need to know what that means, I need to “count the cost” you might say. What I know about being a disciple of Jesus Christ is that upon my conversion to Christianity, I became a disciple, a follower of Christ. But that was only the beginning to my journey – it didn’t end there. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is a life-long journey.
Discipleship is more than following commands, it is about living out the new identity we have in Jesus Christ. In their book DiscipleShift, authors Dempsey & Earley emphasize that true discipleship is a balance of both being and doing. They state that discipleship is a process of transformation where we “abandon the things of the world and follow Christ.” They further state, “The epistles emphasize the relational community where disciples are developed in the context of the body of believers.” In this setting, they state, “they discover and use their spiritual gifts to love and serve each other and nonbelievers.”
So, I would simply summarize a disciple as “someone who both knows and follows Christ.” Simply put, following Christ means allowing Him to unmake us and then remake us into His image. Discipleship is both relational and missional. When I hold these together with 1 John 3:1–2, I see discipleship as living out the privilege of being a child of God while growing into the likeness Christ.
With that thought in mind, I want to share with you three characteristics of a true Disciple of Jesus Christ. In doing so, I am going to bounce the message of I John 3:1-3 off 4:19 to ensure we get this in context.
What I mean by context, I’m reminded of the story of am Amish man who was hit by a patrol officer while riding his horse and buggy and was now suing the Highway patrol for $250,000.00. While standing before the judge, the judge asked, “Sir, is it true that you are suing the Highway Patrol for $250,000.00?” the man replied, “Yes, your honor.” The judge then said, “Is it also true that you were overheard at the scene saying you’d never felt better in all your life?” The Amish man replied, “Yes sir, but you have to take that statement in it’s context.” The judge then replied, “Well sir, what do you mean by that?” The Amish man said, “Well sir, on the day of the accident, the officer hit my buggy and knocked it over; my dog was thrown to one side of the road, my horse was thrown to one side of the road, and I was thrown from the buggy. The officer, with his pistol drown, walked over to my dog and seeing the condition of my dog, he shot him. He then walked over to my horse and seeing the condition of my horse, he shot him as well. And then, with that same pistol drown, he walked over to me and said “well sir, how do you feel?’ and I replied, ‘I’ve never felt better in all my life.”
A DISCIPLE LIVES IN THE NEW IDENTITY AS A CHILD OF GOD (v.1)
“1Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.”
The first part of Matthew 4:19 says, “And he saith unto them, Follow me . . .”
This means discipleship begins with identity – I in Him and Him in Me, not performance. A disciple is not someone trying to earn God’s love, but someone who responds to the love that was freely given by grace through faith. One author states that this new identity requires “mental acceptance of Jesus, understanding that He is now the One in charge of our lives.”
Jesus said, “Follow me . . .” If you are going to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, you have to make a conscious decision to follow Him. Dempsey and Earley state that this invitation to accept of Jesus – His authority and His truth – is at a head level – this is a mental acceptance of Jesus, understanding that He is now the one in charge of our lives.
If we are going to be a disciple of Jesus, He must lead – and we must follow! And when we make the decision to “follow” Christ, we become the ‘sons of God.”
So, a Disciple lives in the New Identity as a Child of God.
A DISCIPLE PURSUES TRANSFORMATION INTO THE LIKENESS OF CHRIST (v.2)
I John 3:2, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”
The second part of Matthew 4:19 says, “. . . and I will make you . . .”
These two verses speak to a transformation. This is the process of the disciples of Jesus being changed into the image of Jesus.
I’ve interpreted I John 3:2 for you before in Joeology, but here it goes again, “I don’t know what I look like right now. I mean, I don’t look like I used to look but I also don’t look quite like Jesus. I am somewhere in the transformational process. It is that daily process of being transformed that will cause me to look more like Him and less like me.”
Jesus said in Matthew 4:19, “I will make you, I will transform you.”
Dempsey and Earley state that “While ‘follow me” is at the head level – the process of Jesus transforming our lives is at the heart level.” Through the grace of God, you and I are being transformed into the image of Christ. That is both intentional and developmental.
As I stated in the introduction, following Jesus means that we are allowing Him to unmake us and remake us into His image. Jesus didn’t chose us because we were anything special, He chose us with an eye to what we could become. Jesus wants to better teach you and I how to better love Christ. This is more than a transfer of information – this is behavior modification!
If you ask me what the greatest need, and what I believe is the most important need of our churches today, what I believe every preacher needs, what I believe Core Team member needs, what every elder needs, and what every member sitting in our church’s need – what I need myself is this:
That we somehow learn daily, to become less like the world, and become more like Jesus. That is the greatest need that I have, and if you’re honest with yourself, that is probably the greatest need that you have.
In Romans 12, the Word of God begs us, implores us, beseeches us – to somehow, not to be conformed, or made like the world, but to become less like the world and be remade by the renewing of our minds, and be transformed into the image of Christ.
You see folks, this is a process. When Christ saved us, He cleansed us, He made us whole, and then we began the process of transformation which is a day-in and day-out process. This is how we become less like the world and more like Christ.
A Disciple Lives in the New Identity as a Child of God;
A Disciple Pursues Transformation into the Likeness of Christ;
Finally:
A DISCIPLE EMBRACES OUR MISSION IN THE PRESENT (v.19)
Let’s look at Matthew 4:19 once more, “And He saith unto them, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Matthew 28:19-20, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
Acts 1:8 states, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
These verses are a call to action for the disciples of Jesus Christ. Earley and Dempsey said, “If our acceptance of Jesus begins in our head and transformation starts in our hearts, then this leads to a change that we do with our hands.” LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE ARE THE HANDS AND FEET OF JESUS. D.L. Moody said “Out of 100 people that will read the Bible – 1 will actually read the Bible, the other 99 will read your life.”
God has saved us for a purpose, and that purpose is to not only become disciples, but to make disciples – EVERYBODY WIN SOMEBODY.
I have asked myself over the past few weeks, “Joe, how do you define discipleship – because if YOU can’t define discipleship, how do you expect this church to define discipleship?” So here is what I have defined discipleship to mean – for me, and for our church, based off the verses I shared today:
A disciple is loved by God, secure in that love, and lives with the hope of becoming like Christ at His return, and who participates in His mission by growing in holiness, living in community, and sharing that hope with the world (1 John 3:1–2).
For me, this definition helps frame discipleship not as a burden but as a joy. It’s about identity as God’s child first, then daily transforming in the image of Christ, and finally being intentional in sharing that hope with others. It is not a burden to be a disciple of Christ, but a privilege we get to live daily.
CONCLUSION
Right here within a 5-mile radius of the Pauline community, there are hundreds of people, right here in our community, who are waiting – they are waiting on God – and they are waiting for us. They are waiting to see if we see their lives are as important to God as our lives are. They are waiting to see if we will share the Good News with them.
I think we have come to a sad place in our churches where we so frequently have to be reminded of what we are here for. Our mission is to be a witness, a light set on a hill – to take the Gospel Message (The Good News) to the ends of the earth.
Can you imagine what would happen in Rally Point Biker Church if our people, who are commanded to go would simply obey that command?
I want to leave you this challenge in closing: Folks, God wants us to “GO”. He wants us to “take the next step.” He said, “Go, and lo, I am with you, even until the ends of the earth.” “Take the next step, and Lo, I am with you.” Let me show you how this works:
- We say to God, “Well God, I sure which someone would start a rehab program in our church.” And God replies, “You GO and I will go with you.”
- “Well God, I sure which somebody would go visit my neighbor.” God says “You go, and Lo I am with you.”
- “Well God, I sure wish somebody would tell my kids about Jesus.” And again God say, “YOU GO, and LO I am with you.”
And God says, “You take the next step – I’ll Go with You.”
- “Where YOU GO – I GO”
- “Who You Speak with, I’ll speak with”
- “Who you invest in, I will invest in.”
Hear the Lord of Harvest sweetly calling
Who will go and work for me today?
Who will bring to me the lost and dying?
Who will point them in the narrow way?
Millions now in sin and shame are dying,
Listen to their sad and bitter cries.
Hasten brother, hasten to the rescue,
And quickly answer, ‘Master, Here and I!’
Fighting for My Pea Patch 