Growing Up In
Jesus
(First in
series of 2 – Nov. 11 – What Does A Grown-up Christian
Look Like?)
Luke 8:4-15
I want you to close your eyes for a
moment and in your mind’s eye go to a place or a time you just didn’t want to
leave. Maybe you have a memory from
childhood – like the aroma of your grandmother’s kitchen - maybe a favorite
vacation spot – kind of like in those
Now think about this. Why don’t you want to leave? Is it because it feels so good? Is it because it was a time of innocence and
joy? Is it because you feel so
comfortable there? Maybe it’s a safe
place where the cares of the world seem really, really distant. What is it that makes that time,
that place so special?
Ok, now back to reality! Open your eyes. I don’t want to risk having you all fall
asleep! I think we all have some place,
some memory, some experience where we felt “this is so good, I could just stay
here forever.” For me it’s my deck. I like my deck. My wife, Cathy, chose the design and I built
it with my own two hands (and a little help from my two sons and my dad). The view is just great – especially this time
of year with the neighbor’s Burning Bush turning to their brilliant red and the
trees on the distant ridge showing their true colors. On a warm summer day it’s shaded by an
ornamental pear tree and is always a cool refreshing place to sit, read a book
or take a good Sunday afternoon nap.
It’s one of those places where I could just sit and enjoy it forever. The trouble is something calls me back to the
reality of life and I just can’t stay there.
Kind of like right now. You’re expecting a sermon now and I can’t
just stand here day-dreaming about my deck!
You may have noticed that I am giving the message both today and next
Sunday. The title of both messages
includes something about growing – today Growing
Up In Jesus and next week What Does A Grown-up Christian Look Like? Today is the first of a 2-part
mini-series. Just like on TV, you have
to be here next Sunday to see how it all ends!
There is really more behind these two
messages than just the idea of growing up.
For a variety of reasons I’ve been focused lately on what it really
means to be a Jesus follower. The Bible
gives a name to those who follow Jesus. It
calls Jesus’ followers his disciples.
These messages are about what it means to grow as a disciple of Jesus
and how to live a life of Christian discipleship.
Dallas Willard, in his book The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus’s Essential Teachings on Discipleship, offers
this definition of a disciple - a Jesus follower. He says, “A
disciple of Jesus is a learner, a student, an apprentice – a practitioner –
even if only a beginner.”
Sometimes our English words don’t
capture the true essence and meaning that’s trying to be communicated. I think disciple is one of those words. For example, in English it can be both a noun
and a verb. The English Bible uses the term in connection not only with Jesus,
but with other individuals and groups as well.
I like the German word for discipleship which is “Nachfolge”
which, literally translated means “follow after.” A
disciple is one who follows after another, who seeks to learn and grow in the
example of the teacher.
I think there are some real
misconceptions among Christians about what a disciple of Jesus is. We read in the Bible that Jesus called out
twelve men to be his disciples and, if we stop there, we can easily assume that
disciples are very specially selected people.
There are only certain people who can be disciples. That cannot be any further from the
truth. The term disciple is used in the
Bible to describe followers of John the Baptist and even followers of the
Jewish Pharisees. So the term is not
unique to the twelve. In Mark
Another misconception is that a
disciple is simply a believer. If I come
to personal salvation in Jesus Christ, I am his disciple. But the concept of disciple as an apprentice
and a practitioner suggests that head knowledge or belief is only a small part
of discipleship. A disciple is not only
one who believes, but one who puts into practice in one’s life the principles
and teachings of the One we follow. Most important for
today, a disciple is one who is growing. A
disciple is learning and then putting into practice what is learned.
Personal salvation is only a small part of what being a
Christian, a follower of Jesus is all about.
While we may find great peace, joy and comfort in knowing our eternal
destiny is guaranteed, a disciple, a Jesus follower, can’t stay in that
comfortable place which feels so good we just don’t want to leave, for true
discipleship is costly, but more about that next Sunday. Today I want to focus on how growth as a
disciple of Jesus takes place – or doesn’t take place - within us.
Jesus told a story (a parable) about a farmer scattering
some seed. I’ll read the version of the
story told in Luke 8:4-15.
READ LUKE 8:4-15
In this instance Jesus not only tells the story, but then,
in response to questioning by his followers, he tells them the meaning of the
story. It is a story about how disciples
are made – or not made; a story about growing up in Jesus – or not.
My front yard is a rather steep hill and is almost directly
south in exposure. In the hot summer
weather it takes a beating. It is a weed
seed collector. Those hot southwesterly
summer winds seem to deposit every sort of weed and I have a terrible time
keeping grass growing, especially to one side of the driveway. I think the problem is that when the house
was built there wasn’t sufficient top soil placed on that side so the grass doesn’t
have deep roots and it tends to dry up and die off quickly, but the weeds love
it and just take over. I spray for weeds
every year and they just come back. I’ve
re-seeded some spots where the grass dies off each year and when the heat of
summer comes, it’s back to square one.
Probably the only thing I could do to change the situation is to spread
a couple inches of good rich top soil on that side of the yard and start over.
In the parable Jesus describes four kinds of soil. Actually he is describing four different
types of people and how they receive his teaching and the potential for growth
with each. It is a story about growing
up in Jesus. He describes what I’ll call
“Path” people, “Rock” people, “Thorny
Patch” people, and “Good soil” people.
Only one of these has the potential for growth into a disciple of Jesus.
The seed, Jesus says, is God’s word. As the farmer sows the seed it falls on
different types of soil. As people hear
God’s word as revealed in Jesus they will have differing responses to it. It will depend on the condition of their
heart. There are those who will look,
but do not see or hear, and do not understand, but there will also be those
followers of Jesus “with ears to hear” and thus “are permitted to understand
the secrets of the
My guess is there are not too many Path people here this
morning for Path people are those who,
although they have heard God’s word, they have refused to believe it. Path people are those whose hearts and minds
have been hardened, Jesus says, by the devil who comes
and takes away the word from their hearts and prevents them from believing and
being saved. The Bible tells us there
were people who
followed Jesus for a while, but then, for whatever reason, walked away. John 6:60 says, “Many of his disciples said,
‘This is very hard to understand. How
can anyone accept it?’ and in verse 66, “At this point many of his disciples
turned away and deserted him.” There are
people today who for whatever reasons do the same.
Now as we get into the rocky and thorny soils, I can’t be so
sure as to whether any of us here this morning fit the descriptions of Rock
people or Thorny Patch people. You’re
going to have to look at yourself and decide.
Rock people, Jesus
says, are those who, like many in the crowds that followed him, believed his
message - they actually received it enthusiastically and with joy - but never
got around to doing anything about it. The Word doesn’t
take root in Rock people. It is very
shallow – kind of like that top soil in my front yard – and when trouble comes,
when those hot southerly winds start to blow – they wilt. A deep rooted plant can withstand heavy
storms and prolonged droughts. Rock
people don’t survive the storms of life because they haven’t given the Word a
chance to get rooted in their lives.
When the storms of life come they immediately turn inward and try to
depend on their own power, their own self, to weather the storm and when they
find they can’t, they wilt, they dry up, they become
cynical and angry. Some turn to various
addictions like alcohol or drugs to escape reality. Rock people generally aren’t very happy
people.
Unfortunately, I think many churches may have Thorny Patch
people. I wonder if we have any here? Thorny Patch
people, Jesus says, are those who “hear the message, but all to
quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of
this life. And so they never grow into
maturity.” Thorny Patch people believe, but then become distracted by the concerns
of life and they never grow into disciples.
One of the most annoying weeds I find in my flower and
vegetable gardens is that wild morning glory.
It just wraps itself around anything that will support it and it takes
over. You can’t get rid of it just by
pulling because the roots go too deep. It’s flowers are really pretty, but it takes over the good
plants.
Thorny Patch people are like that. They can look really good on the outside, but
they can pull every good thing down.
They might even pass for good plants with their lovely flowers – they
show up for church every Sunday, they are at many of the church functions, but
they can also be the ones who scoff from the sidelines, who hold the
parking-lot meetings after the meeting.
They can be the ones heard saying, “We’ve never done it that way before.” They are the complainers, the ones who only
find fault, the ones who don’t care how its done as
long as its done their way, they are the ones who pull the body down.
On a more personal level, Thorny Patch people allow the
worries of this life and the lure of materialism to consume their attention and
the Word gets shoved off to the side. They
still believe, but they just don’t have time to do anything with it. Their concern is only for themselves and
their needs and wants. There’s always
something else that is more important – their time, their money. Thorny Patch people are very self-centered
people. They get lulled into a spiritual
complacency. Thorny Patch people “never
grow to maturity” because there is always something else that is more
important.
Then, there are the Good Soil people. Hopefully that is most everyone here, because
these are the ones who are growing up in Jesus, becoming his faithful
followers. Good Soil people, Jesus says,
are those who hear God’s message, embrace it as their own, and then “patiently
produce a huge harvest.” Good Soil people are being formed and
shaped by the Word into the likeness of Christ and in doing so they find
blessing in their own lives and they become a blessing to others.
If you are a gardener, you know that soil good for growth
requires some effort. You have to add
rich compost to provide nutrients, you have to loosen it, till it, provide
sufficient water – it needs to be tended.
So also if we are to be Good Soil people. It doesn’t just happen. It requires a conscious decision and effort
on our part.
In Luke
Quoting Dallas Willard again, he
says, “In the heart of a disciple there is a desire, and there is a decision
or settled intent. Having come to some
understanding of what it means, and thus having ‘counted up the costs,’ the
disciple of Christ desires above all else to be like him.” “The disciple is one who, intent upon
becoming Christ-like … systematically and progressively rearranges his affairs
to that end.”
Good Soil people have a desire and have
purposely made a decision to grow into Christ-likeness. Good soil people hear God’s word and they
embrace it, they take it seriously and they consciously arrange their lives and
priorities to make growth possible.
There is a realization that some things in their lives may have to
change. Good Soil people will have
different priorities. They will never be
at rest until their final rest, for growth in Jesus is a lifelong and active
process. Good Soil people are tending
their soil carefully so that the Word takes root deeply in their lives. They are reading scripture and have an active
prayer life. They engage with other
Christians in dialogue and study. They are being changed and in doing so are
changing the world around them. They are
“patiently producing a huge harvest.”
Now there are those who would ask,
why bother with this discipleship thing.
Isn’t it enough just to believe so I get into heaven when I die? A.W. Tozer, pastor
and author, once expressed his feeling “that a notable heresy has come into
being throughout evangelical Christian circles – the widely accepted concept
that we humans can choose to accept Christ only because we need him as Savior
and that we have the right to postpone our obedience to him as Lord as long as
we want to!” He then goes on to state
“that salvation apart from obedience is unknown in the sacred scriptures.”
The basic question we must ask
ourselves is, are we a Christian or a Christ Follower? There is a big difference. I can be a Christian – I can practice a form
of religion without seriously putting into practice in my life the teachings
and example of Jesus. Like that wild morning glory in my garden, I can look
real pretty, but not be of any value in producing the desired harvest. Good Soil people realize that obedience to
their Lord is not an option and that obedience requires a conscious decision to
pursue continual growth toward maturity in Christ.
While it may seem too difficult,
that being a Jesus follower may cause us to miss out on something in this life
– after all Jesus said we have to give up some things and count the cost – the
cost of what Dallas Willard calls non-discipleship is even greater. He says, “Nondiscipleship
costs abiding peace, a life penetrated throughout by love, faith that sees
everything in the light of God’s over-riding governance for good, hopefulness
that stands firm in the most discouraging of circumstances, power to do what is
right and withstand the forces of evil.
In short, nondiscipleship costs you exactly
that abundance of life Jesus said he came to bring. The cross-shaped yoke of Christ is after all
an instrument of liberation and power to those who live in it with him and
learn the meekness and lowliness of heart that brings rest to the soul.”
Second, and probably more
importantly, following Jesus is the best way to live. He is the Way – the way to the Father, as he
said, but also Jesus has shown us the best way to live our lives. In short, if we choose not to grow up in
Jesus, we loose out on blessing in our own life and we have little chance of
being a blessing to others.
The measure of whether we are growing up in Jesus, whether we are being
Good Soil people is in the harvest, the fruit, our lives produce.
A seed produces a plant and fruit which is like its parent plant. Apple seeds produce apple trees which produce
apples. Bean seeds produce bean plants
which produce more beans. One single
seed is responsible for a crop significantly more numerous than itself.
The value of the seed is not in its
beauty, shape or size; the value of the seed is in its ability to produce a
crop. The value of the crop is in its
ability to provide nourishment to the hungry.
Do you value the crop your life is producing by that same standard? Following Jesus is not about growing a field
of weeds even though some weeds like those pesky morning glories can have very
pretty flowers. Its
not about growing a great looking stand of grass for my personal pleasure. It is about growing a crop that will nourish
the hungry. Jesus will not ask me how
good I looked when we meet someday. He
will ask what I did with the seed he gave me.
Did I “produce a huge harvest?”
Did I make this world a better place because I chose to follow him?
Good Soil people hear the Word, they
embrace it in their lives, and they produce a huge harvest. Good Soil people consciously decide they will
devote their lives to growing toward maturity in Jesus. They will desire above all else to grow into
the likeness of Jesus.
Are you a Path person, a Rock
person, a Thorny Patch person or are you a Good Soil person?
Being a disciple of Jesus is not
just for special people. All who say
Jesus is their Lord are called to grow toward maturity in him and to produce
fruit, a bountiful harvest, for God’s kingdom.
It doesn’t just happen. You have
to make a conscious decision to order your life and your priorities so that
such growth will take place.
Discipleship is not an option, rather it is our
duty to grow toward Christ-likeness in our lives. If we say we are a follower of Jesus, we
can’t stay in that nice comfortable, safe place forever.
Jesus said “When you produce much fruit, you
are my true disciples. This brings great
glory to my Father.”
Are you growing up in Jesus? Is your life producing fruit which brings
glory to God? It is my prayer that you
are one of those Good Soil people and that you, indeed, are growing up in Jesus.
© 2007, Spring Creek Church of the Brethren