What Should You Expect If You Make Disciples?

Hanging Out With Jesus: What Should You Expect If You Make Disciples?

Unedited Transcript

John 15:18-16:4

Good morning, men! Welcome to Man in the Mirror’s Men’s Bible Study, where we always have room for one more man. Why don’t we go ahead and do our weekly shout out? I’m pretty excited about this week’s shout out because we have an Area Director in the Tampa Bay area, Clearwater, and he has started a Bible Study. The group is called Bayside Men and they are from the Bayside Church in Safety Harbor, FL. Jack Griffith is the leader. 12 men meeting on the 1^st and 3^rd Saturdays at 6:50am using the Video Bible Study. Jack is an Area Director for the Bay Area Coalition in Clearwater, FL. So would you join me in giving these men a rousing welcome to the Man in the Mirror Bible Study? One, two, three, hoorah! Welcome guys, we are very glad that you’re here!

Speaking of the Area Directors, I wanted to alert you to something. This is the Area Directors website, areadirectors.org and if you were to go to this website and click on that big thing in the middle, that’s a 9 or 10 minute video that explains what an Area Director is and what we’re trying to do in terms of helping every church disciple every man. Then you’ll see on the right hand side there’s a button that says take the next step. So if somebody’s interested in exploring this for themselves, they can do that, or there’s a button that says get the word out and you can click on that and cut and paste a twitter or Facebook post. Or you can click on email and generate a sample email that you could send to somebody that you think might be interested in being an Area Director. Then, notice across the top here this menu. It says positions. If you click on that drop down menu, you will see several different ways we’ve made it possible for men to become an Area Director. We started out with full time paid, then we realized we had some full time volunteers, and then we realized we had some who wanted to be part time paid, and others still who wanted to be part time volunteers. Then we realized there were still others who wanted to be Field Representatives with more of a 5-10 hour a week role, so now we have 5 positions available. We actually have 7 in total, we have affiliates who have their own 501c3 but really want to use the No Man Left Behind Model, and then we have allies who are men that are doing their own thing but really enjoy the affiliation with us. So if you were to click on this top button that says position comparison, it compares these 3 different positions. I wanted to make you aware of this because if I just verbally tell you, that gives you one level of understanding, but if I show you, then it’s more likely that you or someone you know who is passionate about Christ and the church and men’s discipleship can find it. So I wanted you to be aware of this so you could help us recruit. We started out looking for 330 full time men. I think we’re probably looking at 1,000 men now in full and part time positions. We have 90 Area Directors out there now in 34 states after something like 3 years of working at it. We could use your help, and now you know!

The title of today’s message in this series, Hanging Out With Jesus, is What Should You Expect If You Make Disciples? Every Christian man knows that he’s supposed to share his faith and make disciples. But most men don’t do that. Why? Why does that happen that way? Well, it could not possibly be that Christian men don’t know that this is what they should be doing, making disciples. It can’t possibly be that you don’t know people who need to know Jesus, so what is the problem? We’re at John 15:18 and we’ll be looking at the passages that go through 16:4. The first verse of John 16 says this:

All this I have told you so that you will not fall away.

So everything that came before this, the passage we’re going to talk about and the things we’ve been talking about in previous weeks as well, the reason that Jesus is going to tell you and me these things today is so that we will not go astray.

You’re Going To Turn Some People Off

So what is the problem? Well, Jesus wants us to know that if you want to make disciples, you’re going to be turning some people off. John 15:18 is where our text begins today. Jesus says to the disciples right after he’s told them that this is to my Father’s glory that you bear much fruit, and right after he said you did not choose me but I chose you to produce much fruit, fruit that will last. Then he says this:

¹⁸ “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. ¹⁹ If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you…

Then he says some other things that sound similar. Down to verse 25:

²⁵ But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’

They hated me without cause. So a couple questions there. Why did they hate Jesus? Why would anybody hate Jesus? Who is this world that Jesus is referring to, this world that he’s talking about? It’s worth noting that when the Bible talks about the world, it’s the world that God created and he saw that it was good. But it’s also the fallen world, so the world that Jesus is talking about, there are really 2 worlds. There is the grace world in which the Christian lives and then there’s the broken world in which everybody else lives. We are naturalized citizens. The native land, the native world of every human being is the broken world, that world which is subject, because of the fall, to sin, death, and decay. Everybody starts out with their citizenship there, their passport is stamped broken. But God, through Jesus Christ, set up another world. It’s an invisible kingdom that lasts forever but it presents itself in this world in what we call the church. It’s the grace world, and the border between the broken world and the grace world is open, you don’t need a passport to move back and forth. That border is Jesus Christ and his cross, and everybody is welcome to pass into the grace world. Nobody is excluded. Who did Jesus come to save? All who would believe. All are welcome, none are excluded. Jesus did not come to condemn you, he came to save you. By the way, there is no dual citizenship between these 2 worlds. You cannot love God and hate money or else the other way around and James 4:4 says a similar thing. There is no dual citizenship. When we immigrate from the broken world into the grace world, we become citizens of the kingdom of God. But God sends us as aliens and strangers back to be what he calls in but not of the world, so that we can testify to the world of the surpassing greatness of being part of the grace world. Not only that, God is constantly inviting those who belong to the broken world to seek asylum in the grace world, wooing them over constantly. So we have these 2 worlds, but this world that hates Jesus and Christians is not a world that God hates. It’s very important when looking at this text when you see this hate word (miseo), it’s not that God hates the world. It’s not that for God so hated the world that he sent his one and only son, Jesus! It’s not even for God so liked the world that he sent his son Jesus! It’s for God so loved the world that he sent his one and only son, Jesus!

It’s hard to understand how God could love somebody that hates him, but you have kids, so you know what it’s like. You have had people with season in their lives where they have hated you. You probably have had seasons in your life where if you are married that you hated your wife. Or she hates you, but it’s a season. So when God looks on these haters, these are not yet Christians. They may never be, but these are people who are not yet believers and he came to save them. So he invites them to come and visit, no passport required, come over the border any time, and invites them to come and visit grace world. In this life, it’s the visible church, the church being other believers. Some, when they see what the grace world is like compared to the broken world they are living in, it’s their time and they love it, and they embrace it. They become citizens, they take their oath of allegiance. We call it the sinner’s prayer. When somebody becomes a citizen of the United States from another country, they swear an oath of allegiance to the Constitution and Laws of the United States, to defend and uphold it. They abandon all allegiance to any other sovereignty, state or person. That’s what we do when we become part of the grace world. People come over and visit and they say I love this, and they take their oath of allegiance. But others are not quite so sure. They love the benefits of the grace world, but they want to maintain a dual citizenship. So they try to have one foot in the grace world and one foot back in the broken world. Others still, it’s just not their time at all. They look around and they think the grace world is ridiculous, and they hate it, you and everything about it. So they return to their miserable lives back in the broken world, because it wasn’t their time yet. That doesn’t mean they will never come back to the grace world, it just means that it wasn’t their time yet. Jesus doesn’t hate these people. They may hate him, and they may hate you, or they may just not love you or dislike you, or they may oppose you. Hate is a continuum, they may just be indifferent to you. But Jesus doesn’t hate them, and guess what? Jesus doesn’t want you to hate them either. Jesus doesn’t want you to hate anybody. Jesus Christ does not want us to hate anyone! So right now, ask yourself, do you hate people because they don’t believe the same things that you believe? If you do, you’re wrong! Stop that! The main way that people get attracted into the grace world out of the broken world is because the people in the grace world love them and make the grace world look attractive to them, so that they want to be a part of that. They tell their stories.

The purpose of Jesus telling the disciples about this is that he wants them to have a realistic set of expectations. Some people are going to oppose you, dislike you, even hate you because of Jesus, and some are going to be intrigued. They’re going to want to have what you have. Why is this such an issue? Why is Jesus going over this? This is one of the last big instructions that he’s given to his disciples here. He wants you to know that you’re going to turn some people off. The problem is that we all want people to like us! We don’t want to intentionally make people not like us! If you think about this, if you don’t care if people like you or not, you’re probably not going to be a very good witness anyway! You’re probably going to be a mean, cranky, old person! I remember in high school, I’ve always wanted people to like me. So in high school, the reason I wear this style of glasses, these horn rimmed ones, is that these are exactly the same kind of glasses I wore in high school! I had this exact same pair, but in high school I wore my glasses but had no prescription. I just had clear glass in there because I wanted people to like me and it was cool to have these black horn rimmed glasses. So I wore glasses just because I wanted people to like me. We want people to like us, and if you don’t you’re a psychopath!

When you’re making disciples, you should just expect that you’re going to turn some people off. Because of that, the Big Idea today is this: Half the people in the world are not going to like you anyway, so it may as well be for the right reason. It doesn’t make any difference whether you’re a republican or a democrat, rich or poor, believer or nonbeliever; it doesn’t make any difference what you are, what you’re into or what you like. Whatever you choose to be for, there’s going to be the other half of people who are against you. But because we want to be liked, we say oh I’m going to try to please that other half of the people that don’t like me. So you go over there and spend some time try to please them and guess what happens? As soon as you do that, the other half that used to like you don’t like you anymore! You know this is true! So since half the people in the world aren’t going to like you anyway, let it be for the right reason that you are making disciples.

But You Will Produce A Lot Of Fruit

I said that you’re going to turn a lot of people off, but if you do this, you will produce a lot of fruit. That’s what Jesus has just said! He said this is to my Father’s glory that you will bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my what? Disciples! You didn’t choose me, I chose you, to go and bear much fruit. Fruit that will what? Last! Disciples! So you’re going to produce a lot of fruit.

Look back with me at verse 20. It says remember the words I spoke to you. No servant is greater than its master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. That’s where I stopped, but listen to the next sentenced:

If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.

So those people that are attracted and intrigued by grace world, those are the people that now’s their time. They’re saved or are being saved, they’re ready, they obey his teachings, and they will obey yours too. A lot of people out in this broken world right now are overcome by their sadness. They are overcome by the futility of their lives. They are overcome by the lack of purpose, the anomy, the sense of meaninglessness, and they are longing for something that they probably don’t even know how to describe, grace. They are longing for grace, the grace of the gospel of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

Turn to 1 Corinthians 16:8. I want you to see in the scriptures that there’s an illustration about Paul that shows the relationship between expecting opposition and producing a lot of fruit. Verse 8:

⁸ But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, ⁹ because a great door for effective work has opened to me (I’m producing a lot of fruit!), and there are many who oppose me.

That’s the best picture I know of in scripture to illustrate this contrast. A great door for effective work and there are many who oppose me! So because of that again, the Big Idea today is this: Half the people in the world are not going to like you anyway, so it may as well be for the right reason.

So How Should We Respond?

Finally, let’s take a look at how we should respond. I’m going to give you a little technical knowhow here this morning, too. So how should we respond? Go and make disciples! Because if you don’t make disciples, half the world is not going to like you, but if you do make disciples, half the world is not going to like you! So making disciples is the right reason for them not to like you and not making disciples is not the right reason for them not to like you! So go and make disciples! What is discipleship? We’ve said it here before! Probably recently! When you run across somebody who is stuck in the broken world, discipleship means finding out why and helping them solve that problem! That’s what discipleship is.

What is a disciple? A disciple is someone who has been called to live in Christ, equipped to live like Christ, and sent to live for Christ. Go and make disciples, that’s what Jesus is saying, that’s what this text here is all about. He’s giving the disciples a reasonable set of expectations so they will have courage as they go out and make disciples. It’s like the high school basketball player who is absolutely incredible in practice. He was so good they made him the starting point guard, but when the season started, he was overwhelmed, he was swamped! The coach pulled him out and he said son, what in the world is going on? You were so incredible in preseason practice. He says yeah coach, but I got in the game and there were all these tall guys waving their hands in my face all the time. You have to expect the opposition.

Back in John 15:20 again, it says remember the words I spoke to you, no servant is greater than its master. So in this verse we see 3 things: no servant is greater than the master, because they persecuted me, they’ll persecute you, and if they obeyed me, they will obey you. Having the mindset of a servant. We have said here many times that a servant does not ask the question what do I want. You know you’re a servant when you’re asking the question what does the master need. Well, what does the master need? What’s the reason he’s telling us all this? Drop down to verse 26 in John 15:

²⁶ “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me (he will bring to people’s attention that I am the border crossing. But that’s not all). ²⁷ And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

What does the master need from you? What is the mindset of a servant? It’s to testify that Jesus is the way to grace land, the way to grace world. I could say a lot more about servants, I wish I had the time, but I want to talk to you about how do you testify about Jesus, so that when you leave here you don’t just have this guilt that you should be doing something more to help people but don’t know what to do. I want you to know what to do. The first and most important thing to do is to figure out how to give another person the opportunity to tell you about their spiritual life. The question that I use is where are you on your spiritual journey? I used to spend lots of time at first with things like tell me about your family, tell me about your business, and tell me about this or that. Then 15 minutes later I would say oh what about spiritually? Where are you on your spiritual journey? I don’t do that anymore, I just start with hey I’m Pat Morley. Are you a spiritual person? Where are you on your spiritual journey? Not that the others are a waste of time. Sometimes you probably should do that, but for whatever reason, people respond to that question with me quickly. I really have only ever had one person that I can remember that didn’t want to answer the question. It was actually here, and it wasn’t that long ago, but in 30 years of asking thousands and thousands of men that question one on one, for me it works. Other people have different questions like tell about your spiritual life. In other words, the first thing to do is give people the opportunity to listen. Everybody in the world is a spiritual being, and they know it! Every person in the world knows that they are on a spiritual journey! Everyone knows this! Everyone has spiritual thoughts! Everyone! Even those who are most opposed to the things that we are for, know that they are spiritual! And they are curious about that! People love to talk about their spiritual lives, so that’s the first step, and anybody can do this. A question like tell me about your spiritual life or where are you on your spiritual journey.

The second thing, when you do that, either that day or another day, there will be a time where they will ask you where you are on your spiritual journey or it will be appropriate for you to tell them your story. So the second step is to simply tell them your Jesus story. By the way, don’t tell them your story, tell them your Jesus story. This is not about you, it’s about Jesus, it’s about your personal experience with Jesus, we call this a testimony, your story about Jesus. Then, we define evangelism around here as simply taking someone as far as they want to go towards Jesus. So on any given day, you simply take that person as far as they want to go towards Jesus, but when the time is right and they are ready to apply for citizenship, you can administer the oath of allegiance. That’s the third step, helping someone pray the simple sinner’s prayer, to confess their sins, and to receive Jesus. Everything you need to know, everything that’s in any oath of allegiance, any sinner’s prayer, is basically contained in these 10 words. These are the 10 words a person needs to become a Christian, and you can add other words around it, but there are only 10 words that change everything:

I put my faith in Jesus and confess my sins.

Or I confess my sins and put my faith in Jesus. That’s it! That’s the oath of allegiance! Get people talking about where they are on their journey. When appropriate, tell them where you are on your journey. When the time is right, administer the oath of allegiance, the 10 words. Help them say, when they’re ready, I confess my sins and put my faith in Jesus.

Just a final thought here, how about getting some people to whom you can do this with? I served on Bill Bright’s board for 9 years and traveled with him extensively. Here’s what I have observed; wherever Bill Bright went, God continuously brought people to intersect his life who needed Jesus. It was like wherever he was going, it was a magnetic path or something and people would come to him. I thought about this for years, I said why do so many people cross Bill Bright’s path who are ready to become Christians? Here’s my answer, I could be wrong, God knew that if he sent someone to Bill, that Bill would be faithful to testify to Jesus, to do these 3 things. May it be found so with us. And remember, not everybody is going to like you. Half the people in the world aren’t going to like you no matter what you do, so let it be for the right reason. Let’s pray!

Closing Prayer

Our dearest Father, we come to you humbly today, wanting to know what we should expect if we make disciples, and then realizing that there’s no way to avoid having some negative feedback. Lord, help each of us to pledge ourselves to make disciples anyway. I pray, Father, for every one of these men that you would give them the courage in their inner man, the personal strength to go and make disciples. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen!

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PASTE TRANSCRIPT HERE

Below you’ll find three options for downloads including a handout for the lesson (.pdf), an audio-only version of the lesson (.mp3), and a full video of the lesson (.mp4). To save them, right-click and select “Save link as…”