Growing in Intentional Discipleship

Message Notes Online Church Service – Vision & Values - Part 2 by Simon Elliott Growing in Intentional Discipleship Ephesians 4:1-16 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: “When he ascended on high,    he took many captives    and gave gifts to his people.” (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Introduction Last time we reminded ourselves of our Vision and Values here at Everyday Church. We focused on our 7 words: Son – Father – Spirit – Grace – Community – Kingdom – Love We reminded ourselves that although discipleship is not one of our 7 words, it is absolutely key to our Kingdom calling and vision. Discipleship would seem to be God’s strategy for fulfilling his vision – the extension of the Kingdom of God. The rule and reign of God in the hearts and lives of every individual on the planet – image bearing. And the call on each of those individuals - each of us - to see the Kingdom of God break out in every arena of our lives – Kingdom bringing. Having seen discipleship as God’s Kingdom strategy and our calling, we then emphasised that biblical discipleship is both Inspired – enabled, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, and Discipleship needs to be intentional. We will, I hope, keep making space to go on being filled and being led by the Holy Spirit, but today we are going to focus on how we are intentional in our discipleship. We are going to ask three questions: Why do we need to be intentional? How might we be more intentional? What might happen when we are intentional? We are going to seek answers to those questions in a key passage – Ephesians 4. A bit of background In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, we can see, possibly most clearly, how Paul tended to write his letters to the early church. Of course, Paul did not write in chapters and verses – these were added much later to help Christians navigate the word of God more effectively. But Paul did structure his letters, either around questions he was being asked, like in Corinthians, or he would tend to lay a foundation of doctrine – what we should believe, followed by instruction on how we should behave, based on what we should believe. This is the structure we see in Ephesians. In chapters one to three, Paul lays a foundation of faith – who God is, the identity and role of Christ, our sinfulness and hopelessness – God’s saving grace – our new identity in Christ. Then, from the second half of chapter four onwards, Paul picks up hints about our behaviour in the early chapters and outlines how the believer's new identity should totally transform their lifestyle and spiritual life. In between these two sections, we have 16 verses that act as a bridge between the two sections. A bridge that, I believe, helps us understand intentional discipleship. In these verses, we find answers to our three questions: Question 1 – Why do we need to be intentional? Paul opens this section of his letter with these words. As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Notice the activity in Paul's words – I urge you – live a life worthy – be completely – make every effort to keep. You can hear the plea in Paul’s words – this champion of grace is urging the believers to be active in the pursuit of the riches of their faith. There is nothing laid back about Paul’s instructions. We could, therefore, simply answer the question Why be intentional with the answer, because the bible tells us to be intentional. But Why? Why does the bible instruct us to be intentional in our following of Jesus? Why was Jesus intentional? Why was Paul intentional? Why was the early church so intentional, or to put it in Luke’s words, devoted? We find the answer in verse fourteen. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. In describing the fruit of intentional discipleship, Paul reminds us of the need for intentional discipleship. We do not live in a neutral world – in fact, as Paul will remind us in chapter 6 of Ephesians, we live in a spiritually hostile world Paul, who had firsthand knowledge of being at sea and being shipwrecked, uses the metaphor of the sea to remind us that we live out our faith in hostile waters, and if we do not intentionally pursue truth, who knows where we will end up, which rocks we might come apart on. The writer to the Hebrews uses a similar metaphor in chapter 2 verse 1. We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. Both Paul and the writer to the Hebrews are drawing on the teaching of Jesus in the parable of the seed and the sower in Matthew chapter 13. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.  But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. I have been a pastor for 30 years, and in that time, it has been a joy to see so many people come to Christ and pursue him and his Kingdom with their whole hearts. But tragically, I have also seen established believers walk away from God. The tragedy is that, though some reject God in a moment, often because of a traumatic life event, most people drift. Over several months and years, they stop actively pursuing God, and the undercurrent of a world that is full of the deceitfulness of our enemy, the devil, and a fallen world, slowly draws them away from the joy of a spirit filled kingdom, bringing relationship with their heavenly father. Why do I need to be intentional in my discipleship, in my following of Jesus, in my apprenticeship in the Kingdom? Because if I am not intentional, I do not stay where I am with God, I will drift away from him. Question 2 – How am I intentional in my discipleship? Short answer – it is about people and practices. Firstly, it is about people – community. Throughout Ephesians, Paul talks about the church, the people of God, the community of believers. In those opening verses of our passage, Paul urges us to seek the unity of the church. Why? Because we are much more likely to drift on our own, and it is so much easier to be intentional when we are in community – when we have people around us. When I was a little younger, I played rugby. There were two types of training we were supposed to do to prepare ourselves for games – gym work, which we did on our own in our own time, and team practice. One I found really difficult, and if I am honest, rarely did, and one I loved. I loved team practice – pursuing excellence together. Training is easier in community. It is why Paul exhorts the Ephesians to pursue unity in community before he calls them to intentional discipleship. Paul doesn’t just speak of general people; he talks about specific people – what we tend to refer to as the Ephesians four ministries: He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe. So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up Paul here refers to specific people who represent a specific ministry with a specific purpose. Paul is not talking about titles or professional positions; he is speaking about people with purpose, and that purpose is to equip and enable the believing community in intentional discipleship. Why can I say this? Because, as we shall see, the fruit of intentional discipleship is mature and fruitful believers. These ministries equip the saints, all the believers, for works of service – for activity which will bring maturity through intentionality. John Stott puts it like this: Paul sets out two purposes – one immediate and the other ultimate – for which Christ gave gifts to his church. His immediate purpose was to equip his people for works of service, and his ultimate purpose so that the body of Christ may be built up. The former expression about equipping God’s people is of far-reaching significance for any true understanding of Christian ministry. For the word service (diakonia) is here used not to describe the work of pastors but rather the work of so-called laity, that is, of all God’s people without exception. Here is undeniable evidence that the New Testament sees ministry not as the privilege of a clerical elite but as the calling of all the people of God. [Stott, John. The Message of Ephesians: God's New Society (The Bible Speaks Today New Testament Book 11) (p. 165). IVP. Kindle Edition.] Intentional discipleship is about growing up in God, and we grow up best in community. We grow up best when we are impacted by Ephesians 4 ministries and the spiritual practices that they empower and encourage in us. We cannot go into a full unpacking of all these ministries now or engage in a full discussion on whether we are talking about 4 ministries or 5, but we can see how the ministries model and motivate within each one of us the vision for, and activities of, intentional discipleship. Apostolic ministry reminds us that we are a sent people. We are a people called by God and sent by God. We are not meant to be static – sitting in our studies simply absorbing more Christian teaching. We are bringers and seekers of the Kingdom of God. Some of us are sent to different towns, cities, and nations, whilst some of us will live in the same place for decades. Some of us will do both. But whatever our specific calling, we are all people called to carry the Kingdom of God into every arena of our lives. Apostolic ministry, which in the New Testament centred around planting churches and caring for church leadership teams, empowers us to be the church rather than attend church. Apostolic ministry provides the context for our faith. Whether we are in a prayer meeting or a work meeting our identity does not change and nor does our primary calling, We are not teachers or plumbers, or business owners or workers, Monday to Friday and Kingdom bringers on Sunday -we are always Kingdom bringers and for the majority of our week we are bringing the Kingdom through how we teach and plumb, and lead and work. Prophets hear God and provoke us to seek God and listen for his voice. Prophets eagerly desire the prophetic and challenge us to do the same. Prophets remind us that we are the sheep of the good shepherd, and we are designed and intended to hear his voice. Prophets pray and listen and inspire us to pray and listen. Intentional discipleship is about carving out time to pray, not because it is what religious people do, but because it is what relational people do. God loves us and longs to speak to us and through us, we discipline ourselves to pray because in our hearts we long to hear his voice. Evangelists love to preach the gospel – the good news about Jesus. The grace filled declaration that God has made a way for us to return to him. Evangelists provoke us to witness. Our discipleship is inspired by the Holy Spirit, and scripture is clear, the Holy Spirit empowers us to witness to those around us. The Kingdom of God is about more than personal salvation, but it is never less than personal salvation. Salvation is the foundation of the Kingdom. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Intentional discipleship is about making the most of every opportunity to share our faith in Jesus and inviting others to encounter him. Pastors shepherd. Pastors care, but they also equip us to care for one another. The pastor teacher gift, which many would equate with eldership, enables the local church to not only see people saved, but also see them added into community. To see people loved and restored in a community of grace. Pastors model care and create structures that enable care for one another. A good shepherd will build solid sheep pens that will keep the sheep safe through the watches of the night. Teachers teach the word of God and teach people to read and study the word of God for themselves. Jesus was clear that teaching and listening are of little or no worth unless they are accompanied by obedient action. Jesus modelled the kingdom and then taught the kingdom. The first disciples listened to the teaching on the Kingdom and then went out and did Kingdom work – they preached the gospel and healed the sick and drove out demons, and cared for the poor. What does all this mean in practice? Why am I talking about ministries and not spiritual disciplines? Surely, spiritual disciplines are the key to intentional discipleship? Well, yes, they are, but the spiritual disciplines can so easily become religious exercises if we do not see them in the context of God’s Kingdom mission, and these Ephesians four ministries are God’s gifts to his people to equip them for that mission. We spend time in prayer, not because that is what religious people do, but because the children of God, called by God to extend his kingdom, need to talk to God and hear from God. Prayer is the discipline that opens our ears and our minds and our hearts to all that God wants to speak over us. We read our Bibles and listen to sermons and discuss biblical topics with our friends, not because we want to be biblical scholars, but because we want to learn the mind of God and be shaped by truth, and because we want to be equipped for our witnessing and making our kingdom stand for justice in an unjust world. We come together for worship not out of habit, but because we want to glorify the risen Christ and encounter the Holy Spirit, and minister to one another with Spiritual gifts. We listen to sermons because we want our heads to be lifted out of the mundanity of daily life to the glorious apostolic calling that we are a sent people and part of a bigger story that will end in eternity and a new heaven and a new earth. Making space for all these activities in our lives takes time and effort and has to be intentional – but through these practices, and others life serving, and fasting and giving, etc – through these practices we bring ourselves right into the centre of God’s Kingdom purposes, and we are reminded again and again of our identity as children of the living God. What might happen when we are intentional? Though we have asked the question what might happen, it would possibly be more biblical to say what will happen? The simple answer to that question is Kingdom growth! to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. Ephesians four ministries empower intentional discipleship through the spiritual disciplines. Ephesians four ministries, especially local pastor teachers, are key in structuring the local church in a way that encourages and enables the believers to pursue intentional discipleship. If the effective outworking of the Ephesians four ministries collide with the intentional discipleship of the believers, scripture is clear, the believer will not drift away from God and their Kingdom calling, rather they will grow up and into both. Jesus said it like this in John 15:1-8 I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”