Are you in service so far this morning?
Amen. I have too.
I'm grateful to see all of you who were able to join us in person here this morning,
as well as I want to welcome you, those who are joining online,
and thank you for participating.
We know many watch every Sunday who can't be here in person.
Would you take the Word of God with me and turn to the book of Luke, chapter 9?
We'll read verse 23 together.
Luke, chapter 9, and verse 23.
Have you ever heard somebody say, what would Jesus do?
You ever had a little WWJD bracelet?
Yeah? Seen something like that? That was a fad for a while.
And it was really based on a book by Charles Sheldon called In His Steps.
And it was interesting that many, many years ago, back in the 1800s,
through the ministry of William Booth and the Salvation Army,
there really became a groundswell of people who were commonly asking themselves and each other the question,
what would Jesus do?
We need to be more like Jesus.
Well, last Sunday morning and then again in the evening,
our choir sang a song called The Jesus Way.
How many of y'all were here for that?
How many of y'all, that song blessed you?
Me too.
That's a song that's been around just a couple of years now,
and it is a powerful song.
It says, I choose the Jesus Way.
So as we start a brand new series here in the life of our church on Sunday mornings called Be a Disciple,
the first part of that that I would like to draw our attention to is choosing the Jesus Way.
Have you ever heard somebody say,
well, that's not the Christian thing to do.
That's not the Jesus Way.
That's true.
It's a phrase we often hear, but what does it really mean?
Today we're going to explore what the Jesus Way is,
what that pathway looks like that Christ, the Son of God, laid out for us to follow.
It is a way that leads to a fulfilling and abundant life.
Would you stand with me if you're able to,
and let's read Luke chapter 9, verses 23 through 25.
Luke chapter 9, verses 23 through 25.
Then he said to them all,
If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself.
Take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wants to save his life will lose it.
But whoever loses his life because of me will save it.
For what does it benefit someone if he gains the whole world and yet loses or forfeits himself?
Would you pray with me?
God, I pray that you would speak to us from your word this morning.
Let no one leave this house today having missed something that the Holy Spirit had for them.
God, if there's someone here who has not yet chosen the Jesus Way,
giving their life to you,
let them make that life-changing decision this morning before they leave.
God, for so many of us in this room who have made that decision of turning from sin and turning to Jesus,
we've become your children.
I pray that we would once again recommit ourselves to the Jesus Way and walk in it.
It's in your name we pray.
Amen.
You may be seated.
Thank you for standing.
How many of you go back to English literature, American literature?
How many of you all remember back in school when you studied literature?
Anybody?
That few.
Wow.
Chiquita Graves is very disappointed in the rest of you
because she had so many of you in class, all right?
Well, how many of you would recognize this name?
Robert Frost.
There.
Okay, good.
We had more hands up.
Don't worry.
They remember.
Robert Frost, one of the foremost American poets,
and he wrote a very, very famous poem,
and part of it goes like this.
Two roads diverged in a wood,
and I, I took the one less traveled by,
and that has made all the difference.
I bring that to you because we can often learn
from all kinds of different things in the world.
We can learn from history.
We can learn from science.
We can certainly learn from literature,
and I want to draw the attention to that phrase,
the road less traveled.
The road less traveled.
Can I assure you that the Jesus way is the road less traveled?
High school students, junior high students,
college students, even elementary students,
the Jesus way in your school is the road less traveled.
You will often feel like you are alone
in walking the Jesus way,
but it will make all the difference.
So I'm challenging us this morning from the word of God
to be a disciple,
and step number one according to Luke chapter nine
in being a disciple is following Jesus,
choosing the Jesus way.
So let's look back at Luke chapter nine and verse 23.
He said to all of them,
if anyone wants to follow after me,
and then he gives the steps to do so.
But first we must make a decision that we choose to follow.
We choose to be a disciple.
We choose the Jesus way,
and then we can see what all that entails.
But let's look at what the Jesus way is.
Number one, if you're taking notes in your bulletin this morning,
the Jesus way is a way of love.
The Jesus way is a way of love.
Have you ever heard people say,
man, I don't like those kind of churches
that just talk about God's love all the time,
and they never talk about sin.
Anybody ever heard that?
All you ever do is focus on the love of God,
and that's it.
Can I tell you something?
If there is a church
that is focusing on the love of God,
and you come away feeling like that,
then that church is not accurately preaching on the love of God.
Because the love of God should be the most convicting,
challenging, exposing attribute of God to us.
It should convict us of how little love we show.
It should call us to sacrifice.
It should call us to lay down our lives.
It should call us to turn from sin,
turn from self,
and turn to Jesus for the sake of others.
That is the way of love.
That is the Jesus way.
The Jesus way is a way of love,
and that love will make you turn from sin.
That love will make you turn from self.
John chapter 13 says this,
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples
if you love one another.
You know what the main problem
with why Christianity or the church in America
isn't as effective as it should be?
It's not God's fault.
Funny thing is,
it's not even the lost world around us' fault.
It's Christians' fault.
It's our fault.
Just realized I hadn't turned that on.
I'm so sorry.
Y'all, we have a,
how old is your mother?
97.
We have a 97-year-old lady
who's just started coming recently,
and she comes because she's,
we've got a hearing device that helps her hear,
and I've got this little thing
that I hook up and turn on,
and it helps her hear,
and she's just so happy to be back in worship,
hearing church and worship music and all that.
So, yeah, that is something to get excited about.
All right, let me go back and start over, okay?
I'm just kidding.
You didn't miss that much.
Hopefully you were able to hear some.
By this, everyone will know
that you are my disciples
if you love one another.
There are all kinds of ways of showing love.
Sometimes it might be wearing a little microphone
when you preach.
Sometimes it might be going out
at Pioneer Union on Saturday
and handing out water bottles
before the parade starts.
Sometimes it might be sacrificing something
for the good of someone else.
Sometimes it might be putting yourself
into an uncomfortable situation
and bringing up that big no-no,
because we don't talk about politics
and we don't talk about religion with people, right?
Because that just gets into arguments and fights.
But bringing up the love of God to people
and what God has done in your life,
that might be one of the best ways
that you can show love.
And if we show love,
then they'll know
that we're His disciples.
Because the world around us
tries to show love, don't they?
They think they've got love figured out.
They think they've cornered the market on love,
but their love is so self-centered.
Their love is either lust,
it's either ego,
it's either wanting to make myself
feel good about myself.
Whatever their love is,
it is not an accurate picture
of God's love to us.
So if we show the Jesus way of love,
then they'll know
that there's something different.
We are His disciples.
The Jesus way is a way of love.
Matthew 22 and verse 39 says,
this is the cornerstone
of the Jesus way.
He says this,
love your neighbor as yourself.
Love your neighbor as yourself.
On this hangs all the other commandments.
You must love God.
And if you love God,
then you will love your neighbor as yourself.
If you find yourself not loving your neighbor
like you should,
then you may want to back up and see,
huh,
probably not loving God like I should either.
Because if I did,
then I wouldn't have such a hard time loving my neighbor.
Even when your neighbor mistreats you.
Even when your neighbor doesn't deserve it.
Even when your neighbor has crossed you,
has hurt you,
time and time again,
you still show love.
The disciples asked Jesus,
how many times are we supposed to forgive?
How many times are we supposed to give people another chance?
And Jesus made the point,
70 times 7,
but y'all,
when you hit 70 times 7,
you're supposed to keep forgiving.
You're supposed to keep giving
more and more chances
out of a heart of love.
Love is not just a feeling.
It's so easy when you're in a dating relationship,
you're engaged,
you're newly married,
it's so easy to identify love
as that warm, fuzzy feeling.
But it's so much more than that.
Love is a decision
that you renew
moment by moment,
day after day.
I will continue to love
in spite of whether it's earned,
whether it's deserved,
because God loved me
when I didn't earn it.
I didn't deserve it.
It's not just a feeling.
It's an action.
It's a decision.
It's putting others before yourself.
The Jesus way is a way of love.
Number two,
the Jesus way is a way of sacrifice.
The Jesus way is a way of sacrifice.
Y'all, you can't have love
without sacrifice.
The minute you're in a relationship
and you get to the point
where you have to sacrifice,
and all of a sudden
you start growing
less engaged
with that relationship,
feeling like,
huh, I'm not sure
it's worth it.
You can take it to the bank
that that wasn't really love.
That wasn't love.
Because real love
puts others
before ourselves.
Real love says,
I will lay down
whatever I need to lay down.
I will give up
whatever I need to give up
for the good
of the person I love.
The Jesus way
is a way of sacrifice.
Mark chapter 10
and verse 45,
the New International Reader's Version
says it this way.
It's kind of a paraphrase.
I like how it phrases it here.
He did not come
to be served.
Talking about Jesus.
Jesus did not come
to be served.
Instead,
He came to serve others.
He came to give His life.
Your Bible might say ransom.
And I love how it kind of
portrays what ransom is.
He came to give His life
as the price
for setting many people free.
What is the price
of your love?
What is the cost
of your love?
And if your love for God
hasn't cost you something,
then maybe it's not real love.
If your love for God
has not sacrificed
something in your life,
then maybe it's not real love.
Maybe it's very shallow.
Jesus came to give it all
as the price
for setting you free,
setting me free.
So,
the Jesus way
is a way of sacrifice.
Matthew 20 and verse 28
said,
Jesus came not to be served,
but to serve.
Jesus washed His disciples' feet.
We read that He humbled Himself,
took upon Him the form of a servant,
was made in the likeness of men,
and being found in fashion as a man,
He humbled Himself,
He laid down His life,
He was obedient to the Father,
and then He was raised from the dead.
And now God has highly exalted Him
and has given Him a name
above every other name
because He took upon Him
the form of a servant,
because He laid down His life,
because He sacrificed,
because He humbled Himself,
because He made Himself
as less than.
But we don't like doing that,
do we?
We like to lift ourselves up
as high as we possibly can.
Jesus is calling you
to sacrifice that.
If you want to choose
the Jesus way,
then it's a way of sacrifice.
He came to give His life
as the price.
Number three,
the Jesus way is a way of love,
it's a way of sacrifice,
and it's a way of transformation.
The Jesus way
is a way of transformation.
Would you look over
in Romans chapter 9 with me?
Romans chapter 9,
let's look at verse 19.
Romans chapter 9,
verse 19.
We just got done reading
in verse 18.
He has mercy on whom God,
God has mercy on whom
He wants to have mercy.
He hardens whom He wants to harden.
God is sovereign.
He's in charge of it all.
You might think you've figured out
how to have one up on God
and you don't.
Okay?
God's in charge of it all.
You might think that
you're living your life
apart from God's power and will,
but you are not.
He is in charge.
So verse 19,
You will say to me,
therefore,
why then does God
still find fault?
For who can resist His will?
But who are you,
a mere man,
to talk back to God?
Will what is formed
say to the one
who formed it,
why did you make me like this?
Verse 21,
Or the potter has no right
over the clay
to make from the same lump
one piece of pottery
for honor
and another for dishonor.
Don't forget that part
we just read
about the potter
and the clay.
And what if God,
wanting to display His wrath
and to make His power known,
endured with much patience
objects of wrath
prepared for destruction?
Verse 23,
What if He did this
to make known
the riches of His glory
on objects of mercy?
That would be you and me
as children of God.
That He prepared beforehand
for glory on us.
Verse 24,
The ones He also called
not only from the Jews,
but also from the Gentiles.
Now there's a lot of theology
in this passage.
And if this was a seminary course,
then I could take you through
what I went through in seminary
and Bible college
and have studied since then.
And we could dive into
the rich soteriology
or the doctrine of salvation.
And what does God have to say
in the Bible
about how we're saved?
We could dive into
all these points
in this passage
about salvation.
But for our purposes today,
I want to draw your attention
to the fact
that we read from this
that God is molding the clay.
Some clay
will be useful to Him
and some will not.
But He's molding all of us.
Some will be vessels of honor.
Some will be vessels of glory.
Objects of mercy.
And some will be objects
for destruction.
So,
the ultimate goal
of the Jesus way
is not as much
about what we do
as it is
about who we become.
who God is making us to be.
Now,
I promise you,
that concept
is different
than what you may have heard
or believed
for most of your life
as a Christian.
Because if there's one
error
that so many
of our churches
have made over the years,
it's that
not necessarily
in our words,
although sometimes
in our words,
but definitely
in our practice
as churches,
we emphasize
that God
is more interested
in what you do
than who you are.
And that is
completely backwards.
God is not impressed
by our works.
He never has been.
He never will be.
He is only impressed
by how much
of ourselves
we give up
to Him.
And then
He can do the works
through us.
And then
He gets the glory,
not us.
When God
does something
in your life,
it's transforming.
That means
you change
from one form
into another.
How transformed
are you
after however
many years
you've been
walking
with Jesus.
I love
that we have
many,
let's say,
veteran Christians
in our church.
People have been
saved a while.
Okay?
I love
the children
that we have
turning to Jesus
at young ages.
Jesus said,
let the little children
come to me.
And so,
by God's grace,
50 years from now,
60 years from now,
70 years from now,
some of these kids
will still be in churches
and they'll be the
veteran Christians.
You know what I mean?
But I'm not impressed
by how long
you've been
a child of God.
What amazes me
is how much
God has transformed
you over that time.
Are you the same
person now
as you were
10 years ago?
20 years ago?
30 years ago?
5 years ago?
Last year?
Or has God
been transforming
you along the way?
Are you more
like Jesus now?
Are you more loving?
Are you more kind?
Do you sacrifice more?
Are you more
like Jesus
now
than when
it first began?
The Jesus way
is a way
of transformation.
If you're not
ready for that,
then you might
want to hold off
on calling yourself
a disciple.
But if you want
to be my disciple,
then you've got
to choose
to follow
me.
And he will
lead you places
that you could
never dream of.
He will lead you
places that
will transform you.
He will show you
things and teach
you things
that will change
you from the
inside out.
So we read
back in Romans
9
about this
fascinating
description
of the potter
and the clay.
And there's a couple
things that jump
out to me here.
Number one,
the clay has
no rights
of its own.
The clay
has no rights
of its own.
Do you see
back in
Romans 9
and verse
19,
who can resist
his will?
Verse 20,
who are you,
a mere man,
to talk back
to God?
Will what is
formed say
to the one
who formed
it,
why did you
make me
like this?
Can you
imagine a
potter at his
potter's wheel
forming something,
forming a jar,
and then the jar
says,
man,
I wanted to be
a serving dish.
I didn't want
to be a jar.
Well,
the clay's not
in charge,
is it?
It doesn't get
to choose
what it's going
to be.
It has to
conform itself
to the will
of the potter.
The clay has
no rights
of its own.
But how often
have you and I
said to our
potter,
why did you
do this to me?
Why did you
make me like this?
Because he's
got a grand
and glorious
will for you.
And if you
walk closely
with him,
you don't have
to go out
there and
fight and
scratch and
figure out
what exactly
you're supposed
to be and
how your life's
supposed to go.
God will
lead you
by his
spirit.
You just
have to
concentrate
on being
close to
him,
being submissive
to him,
learning to
love him
and love
like he
loves.
Romans
chapter 9
and verse
20 through
24 gets
a little bit
further in
to this
clay.
In this
potter
example,
number one,
the clay
has no
rights of
its own.
Number two,
the clay
has unseen
potential.
Unseen
potential.
You look
at this
lump of
clay
and to
me,
it looks
like mud
that should
be discarded.
To me,
it looks
like it
has no
use.
But in
the hands
of a
master
potter,
he sees
what it
could be.
And that
is the
wonderful,
reassuring
hope that
you and
I have
that even
though some
people might
look down
on us,
even though
some people
might criticize,
even though
some people
might ignore,
they might
marginalize,
they might
think that
you have no
potential,
no future,
God sees
it all.
He sees
the truth.
and the
truth is
stronger than
those lies.
You have
unseen
potential.
Even your
family might
not see.
Even your
spouse might
not see.
Even yourself
might not
see.
But God
sees it.
And out of
his heart
of love,
he's just
waiting for
you to
submit yourself
to his
hands so
he can
mold you
into something
beautiful.
He calls
it a
vessel
of
glory,
an object
of mercy.
Verse 22,
what if he
did this
to make
known the
riches of
his glory
on objects
of mercy
that he
prepared
beforehand
for glory?
God is
preparing you
for glory.
Don't
exchange it
for something
less.
Don't
give up
the glory
that God
has waiting
for you
for something
temporary,
something
shallow,
something so
meaningless.
The clay
has unseen
potential.
Philippians
chapter 2
and verse 13
puts it this
way,
it is God
who works
in you
both to
will and
to work
for his
good pleasure.
Submit
yourself to
God's good
pleasure and
he will work
in you,
he will work
through you
for your
good and
for his
glory.
2 Corinthians
chapter 3,
we're almost
done.
2 Corinthians
chapter 3
and verse
18.
The Lord
who is the
spirit makes
us more
and more
like him
as we are
changed into
his glorious
image.
Do you see
the transformation
there?
Choosing the
Jesus way is a
way of
transformation.
When you
turn from
your sin
and you
turn to
Jesus
and you
hear the
gospel preached,
gospel,
that's just
the word
that tells
us the
good news
of Jesus
that you
and I
were sinners.
We still
are by the
way.
We were
born into
sin.
We had
no hope
to redeem
ourselves,
to fix
ourselves.
But Jesus
in his
goodness and
his love
laid down
his throne
and came
to heaven
humbled
himself,
took on
human form,
was born
of the
Virgin Mary.
We got
Christmas
coming up
before you
know it.
The whole
world is going
to be talking
about Jesus'
birth.
And then
he grew
up and
he performed
many miracles,
showed that
he was God
time and
time again.
And you
know who
hated him,
right?
The religious
people hated
him.
That's who
couldn't stand
Jesus.
But then
he willingly
laid down
his life
and allowed
himself to
be put
to death
because that
was the
plan from
the beginning.
All along
he laid
down his
life,
he was
crucified,
gave it
up,
but he
didn't stay
dead.
We're not
singing to
a dead
God on
Sundays.
We're not
praying to
a dead
God.
He's
alive,
he hears
us three
days and
three nights
later,
Jesus arose
from the
dead.
We talk
about it
at Easter
time,
right?
Two most
powerful,
momentous,
transformational
moments in
history.
Jesus' birth
and Jesus'
death,
resurrection.
So,
that's the
gospel.
And now
he says,
if you just
simply turn to
me,
say,
God,
I believe,
I put my
faith in
you,
I believe you
came,
I believe you
died,
I believe you
rose,
I believe you
love me,
I believe you
will forgive me,
then you can be
what we call
saved.
Saved from the
punishment of
sin.
Saved from that
terrible place that
God prepared for
Satan and all
those who
will die
without turning
to Jesus.
But if you
give your life
to Jesus,
then he will
save you.
We heard that
testimony of
Megan earlier in
the service,
it was powerful,
man.
So great to
hear that.
So that's when
it starts.
But then day
after day,
we're changed
into his image.
Day after day,
more and more,
by God's spirit,
his holy spirit
indwelling us,
going around with
us everywhere we
go.
He teaches us,
he corrects us,
we go two steps
forward and one
step back and
then he just
never gives up on
us and keeps
leading us on and
changing us more
and more into
his image.
So if you
aren't changed,
if you've been
changed less and
less instead of
more and more,
then maybe you
haven't been open
to God's holy
spirit and his
leading.
Well, it's time to
change that.
It's time to be
transformed.
It's time to get
back on the
transformation train,
okay?
Maybe it took a
stop and you got
off the train for
a little while.
It's time to get
back on and let
God start transforming
you again.
I want to share
this verse with
you, part of the
song that the
choir sang last
week.
I choose surrender.
I choose to
love.
Oh God, my
Savior, you'll
always be enough.
I choose forgiveness.
I choose grace.
I choose to
worship no matter
what I face.
What is he doing?
He's choosing
the Jesus way.
He's choosing
transformation.
He's choosing
sacrifice.
He's choosing
real love.
It's not a
feeling.
It's not an
environment.
It's not an
atmosphere.
It's not something
you get just by
being around it.
Did you ever
sleep on top of
your book at night
before you had a
test?
Because you were
hoping by osmosis
it would get in
there?
It doesn't work
with the Jesus way
either, okay?
You can't just hang
around Jesus.
You can't just hang
around the church house
and hang around
Christians and all
of a sudden you
become more like
Jesus.
No, it's a choice.
Now you should hang
around the church.
You should hang
around other people
like Jesus because
maybe they'll start
to convince you to
be like that too.
But you have to make
the choice for
yourself.
Children, teenagers,
it's not enough to
grow up in a God
fearing, Christ
honoring home.
You have to choose
yourself.
Say, I choose
surrender.
I choose love.
I choose God, my
Savior.
He will be enough
for me.
I choose forgiveness.
That's hard.
Choosing forgiveness.
I choose to give
grace like God's
given me.
I choose to worship
no matter what I
face.
It's easy to sing
that.
It's really hard to
live that.
I choose the Jesus
way.
So our takeaway
this morning is
commit to the Jesus
way and then
sit back and watch
God transform you
into becoming his
disciple.
This morning,
choose the Jesus
way before you walk
out those doors.
Say, man, I chose
the Jesus way a long
time ago.
What are you talking
about?
You might need to
choose it again.
I don't know about
you, but I need to
choose it every
morning.
Sometimes multiple
times throughout the
day, I've got to
sit back and say,
you know what?
I've gotten off the
track.
I've gotten off the
path.
I got off at the
train stop.
I got to get back
on.
I got to choose
the Jesus way again
and then watch God
start transforming me
again into being his
disciple.
Can you imagine what
that would look like
if our church was full
of transforming Jesus'
disciples?
And we showed each
other the kind of love
he showed to his
disciples and his
friends and those
outside the lost.
Can you imagine if we
became his disciples?
Would you pray with me
now?
God, I pray that we
would be your disciples,
that we would choose to
follow you, that we would
be a church, not a church
that names the name of
Jesus and says, oh,
yeah, man, I'd go to
First Baptist.
I'm a Christian.
I love God.
God, I love you.
I love you.
But a church that chooses
moment by moment
to rest in your
forgiveness, to lean into
your grace, a church that
is powerful, not because of
how angry we can get or how
much might we show or how
impressive we are, a church
that is powerful because of
our forgiveness, because of
our love, because of our
sacrifice, because God is
transforming us.
And then we're right where
you want us to be.
We're the kind of church
you want us to be.
Jared's going to lead us in
a song.
Before he does, let me ask
you a couple of questions.
I'd love for you to keep
your seats as he sings.
Just enter into a time of
prayer.
We've got a few minutes
before we dismiss.
Would you just section off
this time to be a time of
quiet reflection on your
heart?
Not talking about what you
do.
Maybe there's something that
God's convicting you about
what you do, and you need to
answer him and listen to the
Holy Spirit and obey.
But right now I'm really
focusing on those who aren't
necessarily going out and
doing all the things that we
know bring dishonor to God.
You're not living that kind of
lifestyle.
But inwardly, you might have
stopped being transformed
along the way.
I'm talking to myself, I'm
talking to my family, and I'm
talking to my church family.
I believe the Holy Spirit
needs some room to work within
our church.
And I pray that right now we
would open up our hearts and
say, God, transform me once
again.
I don't know what it's going to
take.
I don't know what it's going to
look like for you.
It's hard enough to figure out
what it looks like for me.
But I pray that we would make a
commitment to the Jesus way.
And then we watch God transform
us.
That means every morning, every
night, moment by moment, when we
mess up, we stop and we step back
and say, God, forgive me.
I know you already forgive me.
I know your grace never leaves.
I know I messed up.
I know I spoke in anger.
I know I was selfish.
I know I was self-centered.
I know I was greedy.
I know I was fearful.
Whatever it is, God, I know.
And I just got to get back on the
Jesus way.
Get back on the transformation
train.
Let you change me again.
All right, let me ask you these
questions.
Is there anybody in here, I
shared the gospel earlier.
And you say, I need to turn from
my sin and turn to Jesus.
Would you slip your hand up now?
I'd love to pray for you.
Anybody in here, I've never been
saved.
I want to do that today.
Thank you.
For the rest of us, I'm not going
to ask you to raise your hand.
I'm just going to ask you to listen
to the Holy Spirit right now.
Jared, would you lead us in this
song?
You can let him sing over you.
You can join in singing.
It's up to you.
Let's keep our seats and let God
speak to us.