Who Do You Think You Are - Week 5

I am Marco Fuller; I am a student, I am a son, I am a Christian, I am confident, I am a nice guy, I am athletic, I am loyal, I am trustworthy. I am Marco Fuller, I am a disciple. Well, today we are going to wrap up this very important series called, Who Do You Think You Are. This to me is really cool and really humbling. Today, I have the honor of actually team teaching believe it or not, with over 160 different pastors from 18 different countries! This is, in so many ways, history in the making, sharing God's Word. So, I am going to start and then your pastor is going to come and I know that God is going to minister to you through His Word. Let me ask you this question: What do you think of when you hear the word Christian? What do you think of when you hear the word Christian? Well, quite honestly, it depends on who you ask, doesn't it? I mean, if you ask one person, What do you think of when you hear the word Christian? They might say, I think of someone whose life was transformed by Christ. They were one way and then they were totally changed. If you ask someone else they may say, Well, I think of someone who is kind of an out-of-touch, deceived idiot, who is leaning on an imaginary crutch. It depends on who you ask. If you say, What is a Christian? Some people might say, Oh, that's a person who is very loving, very forgiving, very generous, very benevolent, that's a person who is like Christ. Someone else might say, Oh no, no; Christians, they are judgmental, narrow minded and legalistic. What do you think of when you hear the name, Christian? Some would say, Oh no, they are known for their love, they are known for their compassion, they're known for their faithfulness and their integrity. Others would say, You know what? They are known for what they're against, and they're against anything fun; they don't drink, they don't smoke, they don't chew, and they don't run with girls who do! They're against everything and most of all, they're against each other. They can't get along. What do you think of when you hear the name Christian? What's interesting is Jesus never called people to be Christians. Nothing wrong with the term, I use it all of the time, but it means different things to different people. In fact, the phrase Christian was first used early on to make fun of those who were followers of Christ. It was the word Christianos, and it was a group of nonbelievers basically saying, 'You all think you are a bunch of little Christs.' You're like little mini-mes. You're just like little imitators, which in many ways would have been flattery to them, but it was used as a derogatory term. When you think about it though, Jesus never asked anyone to be a Christian. In His language, He asked them to be something else. Jesus called people to be His disciple. Look at what Scripture says, Matthew 9:9, in the New Living Translation says this: As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at a tax collector's booth.... Now, Matthew was a tax collector, would have been despised by people. And Jesus goes up to this guy, others would have said was almost a criminal, and He said to him: Follow me. Notice he didn't say, Believe like I believe, but He said: Follow me and be my disciple. Everybody say, Be my disciple. Jesus said this to him. So Matthew got up and he followed him. Everybody say, Followed Him. Jesus didn't say, 'Hey, would you be a Christian? Would you believe like I believe? Would you go to church? Would you follow this set of rules?' What He said is, Would you be my disciple? Would you leave where you are and follow me? Now, the Greek word translated as disciple, it's in your notes and it means: A learner, it means a pupil, it means a disciple, or it means a follower. Now, I love this, think about it; Jesus never said be a Christian, He said, 'Be my student, be a learner, be my disciple, follow me.' In other words, Jesus was saying, 'What I want you to do is I want you to live like I lived. I want you to love like I love and I want you to do what I do, follow me. I'm not asking you just to believe what I believe, but I'm asking you to live what I live.' Let's do life together. Let's go and change the world together. I'm not inviting you to a belief system or to join an organization, I'm inviting you to be a part of a movement. Would you come along and follow me and when you do, guess what you're going to get to do? You're going to get to live like I live and you're going to get to love like I love and you're going to get to do what I do, because you're not joining a church you're joining a movement and you're going to follow me as my disciple. So, who do you think you are? Those of you, you've met Christ, you've been transformed, you've been forgiven. Your old life is gone, your new life has come. Your filled with the Spirit of God. You're an ambassador, you're a masterpiece, you're an overcomer, you are salt and you are light. Then, write this down: Let me tell you who you are because when you know who you are, you'll know what to do. You are a disciple, a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. You're not just a Christian and whatever that means to the world, but you are a disciple. You are one who lives like Jesus lives, you love like He loves, you do what He did because your life is not your own, you were bought with a price. You are a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. All of our churches, everybody say, I am, say it again, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. My life is not my own, I've been bought with a price, I belong to Him. I will live like He lived, I will love like He loved. I will do what He did. I am His disciple. When you know who you are, you will know what to do. I've got great news for you. You are Christ's disciple. Miles Paludan: As a disciple of Jesus, you're gonna find a need and you're going to meet it. Go ahead and write that down: You're going to find a need and you're going to meet it. Jesus shares a story about a guy who had been robbed and been beaten up and stripped naked and left half dead. And so, this priest comes along, and a priest is like a pastor, ignores him, walks straight by. Next guy to come along is a Levite, he's like a staff person at church. Again, walks straight by. Then, a Samaritan comes along. Now, Samaritans were hated by the Jews. They were considered a half- breed or half-caste. Now, I'm an Australian right? I'm living in America and I feel a bit like a Samaritan every morning when I drive to work. You see, I pull out of my driveway, I start driving and people, man they're tooting there horn, they're giving me the finger, they're just mad at me! And I'm just trying to explain to them that they're all driving on the wrong side of the road, because we all know that you are supposed to drive on the left-hand side! I'm just trying to help you all get on the other side of the road with you and then we'll be driving the right direction! And so, that makes me feel like a Samaritan when you give me all of that hate! But, we are going to pick up what happens when the Samaritan walks along in the story. In Luke 10:33: But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and he saw him... And what happened? ...he took pity on him. Say that with me, He took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine.... Then he put him in his F150, he took him to a Holiday Inn to take care of him and then the next day, takes out his Visa card. He obviously wants some frequent flier points, and he said to the Inn Keeper: 'Look after him, and when I return I'll reimburse you for any extra expense.' And Jesus said this, He said these words: Go and do likewise. Say it with me, all of our churches and Church Online, Go and do likewise! Say it again, come on, Go and do likewise! You are a disciple, and as a disciple we are going to go and do likewise. We are going to love how Jesus loved, we are going to do what Jesus did, we are going to live like Jesus lived. But so often, I'm a bit like that priest and that Levite, I see a need and I walk straight past. Maybe I'm driving down the road and I see someone over to the side and they are changing their tire, and do I stop and fix it? No, I keep driving! Or maybe I'm at the grocery store and I see an older couple kind of struggling with their groceries and do I stop? Oh no, I just keep going. Or, I see a homeless person on the side of the road, do I stop? No, no, I just keep on driving. And so, I wonder why do we not meet those needs? I don't think it's because we're bad, I think it's because we're busy. You see, there was an experiment done of these seminary students, and the lecturers told them that they had to preach a message on the Good Samaritan, which is the story that we just talked about. Now, here was the catch; these college students in seminary had five minutes to get to the lecture hall to preach the message, okay? But, the professors only gave them five minutes to get there, so, they were tight for time. Here's what the professors did: They planted a homeless guy, who was bent over and hurt and crying on the pathway. So, these seminary students had to step over this homeless guy to get to where they were going to preach the message. So, how many of the seminary students do you think stopped to help this guy? Yeah, not very many; in fact, one out of ten, only ten percent stopped to help the guy that they were preaching about. Only one out of ten. Why is that? Well, they were busy, they were trying to get to the lecture hall to speak the message. They failed to understand what the message was even about. As disciples of Jesus, we find needs and we meet them. That's what Jesus did. Jesus was having dinner with His disciples and He found out that no one had washed their feet, and that was an important custom of the day. So, Jesus gets down with a bowl of water and an apron and He washes each one of their feet. Jesus found a need and He met it. Another time, Jesus was with His disciples and they were out fishing and He was on the beach. He knew they would be hungry, so check this out; Jesus, the Son of God, makes a charcoal fire and cooks fish and bread and then serves it to the disciples when they came in. He found a need and He met it. Then there was a time when all of these kids were coming and the disciples are like, 'Get out of here kids, get out of here! The master's busy!' He said, 'No, no, no, no! Hang on! Let me be with the kids, let me play with them, let me love on them!' Jesus found a need and He met it. As disciples, that's what we're going to do. Now, I've got this guy in my church, he's on staff. His name's Mike and he says, Miles, I know a need at our church! There's all of these single women and they need a...... Now hang on, now when we are talking about needs we're talking about some spiritual needs, okay? But let me give you some modern day examples. There's Josh, Josh is 26 years old, in finance. Every Thursday for two hours, he goes down to an intercity school and reads to second graders. That's finding a need and that's meeting it. And then there's Dennis. Dennis is a big, successful builder, but he finds time to fix homes for single moms and widows. Then there's Dee, Dee's a lady at Church Online and she uses her facebook to advertise about Church Online. This guy sees the advertisement, goes to an Online Experience, meets Dee in the chat room, then they go to the live prayer and she prays for this guy to get a job and he gets a job! That's finding a need and that is meeting it. Now these people, they are just like you and me, regular people. You see, when you know who you are, you'll know what to do. You are a disciple. Matthew 10:42 says this: And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward. Here's the great news; as you find needs and you meet them, there is a reward coming for you and it can be something as simple as a cup of water. A hello, a please, a thank you, just meeting a simple need to encourage someone, and there is a reward coming for those who meet the need. As disciples, we are going to find a need and we are going to meet it. As a disciple, we are going to find a hurt and we are going to heal it. That's right, write that down. Find a hurt and heal it. Matthew 9:35 says: Then Jesus made a circuit of all the towns and villages. He taught in their meeting places, reported kingdom news, and healed their diseased bodies, and healed their... What? Say it with me, all of our churches, Church Online, say it with me: Healed their bruised and hurt lives. Jesus didn't just raise the dead and heal the sick. No, he heals their hurt lives. He got into their lives. An example was a lady who was being accused of adultery and there were all of these people about to throw stones at her and about to kill her. Well, Jesus steps in the middle of that situation and He said: 'Those of you without sin, you can cast the first stone.' One by one, they all left. Jesus defended her and He said: 'Lady, I'm not going to condemn you, go sin no more.' Jesus found a hurt and He stepped into it and He healed it. Then there's Peter; one of His main disciples who denied Him three times. Peter, what are you thinking? You walked with Jesus, seen Him do these signs and wonders and miracles and you're going, 'Denied Him three times!' Jesus could have just written him off, man you'll never be anything, you won't make it! Jesus came back after the resurrection and He said, 'Peter, I believe in you. Peter, you're my disciple. Peter, do you love me?' Peter said, 'Yes!' He said, 'Go feed my sheep! Peter, do you love me?' He said, 'Yes!' 'Go care for my lambs!' Jesus found a hurt that Peter was rejected, that Peter was hurting. So many of us feel like that; we're beaten down and we don't think we are worthy, we don't think we are anything, and Jesus comes in and says, 'I believe in you, you're an overcomer! You're a masterpiece! You are my disciple!' And that's what we are. As disciples, we are going to find hurts and we're going to heal them. It's something as simple as caring and loving and listening and praying, and helping someone. Bonnie and I and the family, we went on a mission trip recently, about four weeks ago. We were dropping furniture off to these people who were in need. So, we came to this one place and it was an apartment and there was a lady in there, a single mom, and she had an eight year old and a six year old. We walk in, we open the door, I'm telling you, I nearly was knocked over by the horrific stench that was in this place. Now, I've been in the Philippines, in the slums, they call them barrios; but this did not compare to that. It was so bad you couldn't see the floor, full of food scraps, things were rotten, it was putrid. I said to Bonnie, We can't do this! Let's just drop the furniture off and we'll call someone else, maybe DHS or 911 or we'll call Craig Groeschel for this one! This is too big for us! And we looked at each other and said, If we don't help this lady, who will? As a disciple of Christ, there's hurts all around us. If we don't heal this hurt, who will? Honestly I think, what am I doing with my kids? I don't think I can! And so, we started and we got in there and I'm in the bathtub. This bathwater had been there for weeks, it was putrid, it was awful and I'm throwing up and dry reaching and as I stepped into the middle of this situation, I felt something happen that Jesus helped me to overcome. He helped me to persevere, he helped me. And so, with a little bit of throw up and a lot of Jesus, we ended up cleaning this place out. Come to find out, this lady, she had just given up, she had quit, it was over, done, end of story. She was about to lose those kids. Yet, we stepped in and just served her, didn't give her any spiritual words, we just loved on her. We found a hurt and we healed it and all of a sudden she's got hope. Bonnie, my wife, has been back there with the kids since and as disciples of Jesus, that's what we do. We find these hurts and we heal them. John 13:34-35 says: By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. You love one another. As disciples of Jesus we are going to find a need, we are going to meet it. As disciples of Jesus we are going to find a hurt and we are going to heal it. As disciples of Jesus we are going to do a whole bunch of other things that Jesus asks us to do that don't fit neatly into a point on a page. Yeah, that's right, let me say that again! As disciples of Jesus, we are going to do a whole bunch of other things that Jesus asks us to do that don't fit neatly into a point on a page. As disciples of Jesus, we are going to love like Jesus loved, we are going to do what Jesus did, we are going to live like Jesus lived. John 10:27 says: My sheep... What do they do? Say it with me! ...My sheep listen to my voice.... Say it again! They listen to my voice. ...I know them and they follow me. As disciples, you are going to listen to the voice of God as He leads and directs your life, and you're in let me tell you, for the ride of your life! Let's look at the disciples. Jesus is walking by and they are fishing and he says, 'Boys, leave it all and come follow me!' Man, they dropped everything! They didn't put everything on Craig's list and clear their 401K, they dropped everything and they followed Him. What about that widow? She came to church and she felt to give to God, and so she gave everything she had, everything. Then there's Zacchaeus; he was a notorious tax collector, sinner guy. Jesus goes to his house right? He loves on him, he becomes a follower of Christ and then he says, 'I will give everything that I've stolen back four times, and then I'll give half of what I have to the poor.' You see, when you are a disciple of Jesus, He's going to talk to you and you're going to do what He says. Alison is a great disciple. She felt God told her to serve, not one day, but 365 days she served. There's other guys, their names are Brent, Adam, and Ryan. They wanted to serve people. So, there was this big snow storm that came through. And what they did, they put their lives in harms way. They went out to pull people off the side of the road so they could share Jesus. And then there's Christine and Natalie, and Travis, and Blake. And they give 20-40 hours of their time every week to volunteer at the church with me on staff for free, for nothing. God has spoken to them and they're responding. And then there's Trey. Trey's at Church Online and he made a friend called Joseph and they built this friendship up. Now, Joseph was a wild man; biker, tattooed, rough guy. Yet, they had made this relationship over time. Joseph ended up passing away. Yet, the relationship that Trey had made with him was so strong that Trey felt to go to his funeral that was in a pub, to share Christ to all of his friends. You see, Trey was listening to the voice of God and he acted on it. And as disciples that's what we do. Now, these are just normal people, average people like you and me. You see, you are a disciple, you are a disciple. You can make a difference in people's lives. You may say, 'Miles, I can't, it's too much, it's too big!' No, no, no, no, no! You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. Through Christ, you can do anything. What's impossible for man is possible for God. You can do it, you are an overcomer, God has empowered you. As a disciple of Christ, you are not becoming a disciple, you are a disciple. Christ lives inside of you, He empowers you. He gives you the words to say, He gives you the compassion. He gives you the ability to speak into someone's life and make a difference for eternity as disciples. Man, we are going to do what Jesus did. We are going to live like Jesus lived. We are going to love like Jesus loved! It doesn't make sense to those around you when Jesus asks you to do something. It doesn't make sense when you go off and do something different. But, here's what I want to tell you; we're not living for the approval of man, we are not living to please others, we are not living to be normal, we are living for the approval of our God, our Lord, our Savior Jesus Christ. He's the one who we are here to serve, He's the one we are here to please and He's the one as a disciple that we are going to say, Yes! When I finished high school, I didn't know what to do with my life and I felt God tell me to go to America. So, I signed up for this exchange student program. Long story short, it didn't work out; but ten years later I ended up in America. I came for a two-week holiday with two suitcases and $2,000.00, that was it. Yet, as I was following what God was leading me to do, step-by-step He was preparing me, He was developing me, He was teaching me that I am a disciple. I stand here today, not that I've got it all together, not that I'm anything special, but one thing I believe, I believe that Jesus Christ is my Lord and my Savior, that He lives inside of me and as I follow Him, as I do what He did; His power, His ability to change a life is going to work out through me and effect others because we are disciples, we are salt, we are light, we are here to make a difference on this earth. When you know who you are, you will know what to do. You are His disciple. Craig Groeschel: And the great news is, if you know the risen Christ your life is not your own, you belong to Him. You are His disciple, you don't just believe what He said, you do what He did. You love how He loved and you get to make a difference in this world. What are we going to do? We are going to find a need and meet it, we are going to find a hurt and we are going to heal it, and we are going to do a whole host of other things that don't fit neatly onto a point on a page, because our lives are not our own, we belong to Him. I love this story of a missionary girl who was in a very poor part of the world and she was ministering to and trying to help a guy that had been almost dead by the gutter. There was a wealthy business guy that happened to be in the place visiting and he saw this very young missionary girl working on this guy; who, quite honestly, the smell from his wounds in his body, it was nauseating. He watched disgustedly as she doctored his wounds and he turned away and he said to the young missionary girl, I wouldn't do that for a million dollars! And she paused and looked up at him and said, I wouldn't do it for a million dollars either, but I would do it for the one who gave His life for me! I would do this for Jesus. Because when you know who He is and you know who you are, and your life is not your own, then you want more than anything else to live like He lived, and to love like He loved. So, you will find a need and in the name of Jesus, you will meet it. And you will find a hurt, and in the name of Jesus you will heal it. And you'll do a whole bunch of other things that He's going to ask you to do that other people may not understand, but guess what? You're a disciple and you live for Him. All of our churches praying together, let's just take a moment. Father, we ask that this truth would be driven deep into our souls. God, first I pray for those who are Christians, they do belong to you. At all of our different locations, those of you who would say, You know what, I am! I am a disciple and I've been perhaps a little bit distracted by life and I want to realign myself with His will. I don't want to just go to church, I don't want to just believe a certain way. I want to do what He did, I want to love how He loved and I want to live how He lived. God, use me! Give me a need to meet! Some of you, you are going to step into serving at your church. Some of you, you're going to see someone in your family that's hurting, or someone that's nearby and you are going to find that hurt and you're going to heal it. Others of you, you are going to start acting irrationally, why? Because your life is not your own and you want to do what He calls you to do. All of our churches, those of you who would say, That's me, I really do, I want to be a great disciple. I want to be a servant. I want to live in such a way that brings glory to His name. I don't want to follow a religious movement, or just be a part of an establishment, I want to be a part of a spiritual movement as a disciple; a student, a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to be used for His namesake. All of our churches those of you who would say, That's me! Lift up your hands right now, just Christians, lift up your hands and say, Yes God, I do! I pray that you would work in every Christians heart. I pray God, that you would give them divine opportunities to show your love. I pray they would be students of your Word and that your Word living inside of them would overflow out of them, that they would see needs and say, This one's mine, this one's mine! God sent me to meet this need! They'd find a hurt and they'd say, Oh! I am the physician that He sent, I am here to bring healing. And God I do, I pray they would be sensitive to your voice, that over and over again would call them and direct them to do things that may not make sense because this life is not theirs, it belongs to you. They are a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ and I pray that they would know that, internalize it. Who are they? They are an ambassador, they are an overcomer, they are a masterpiece, they are salt and light and they are your disciple, called to bring you glory into this world. Keep praying today at all of our churches. Some of you right now, you are going to say, You know what? I'm not His disciple, I'm not! Now, this might be confusing to some people around you because a lot of you, your stories may be similar to mine. I grew up believing in God and I grew up going to church. But guess what? I wasn't His disciple. I didn't know Him, I wasn't serving Him, I wasn't His student, I wasn't following Him, I wasn't living how He lived, loving how He loved, doing what He did, I wasn't His disciple. Others of you, people may look at you and go, Yep! You're not His disciple, that's pretty obvious to all of us, your life doesn't look anything like His life at all. But when you heard today from your pastor about who He is and what He did, you were spiritually drawn to Him. Guess what that is? That is God loving you. That is His Spirit working in you, and let me just tell you, that's why you're here today. In fact,I believe with all of my heart, at all of our churches, there are those of you that God brought here specifically for this moment because you recognize, I am not His disciple and I want to be. Let me just tell you what it's going to cost you. You can't work your way to get it, you can't earn it. There's nothing you can do to be good enough for it. You're made right with Him only by His grace, when you call on His name. Jesus was so good, He shed His innocent blood, rose again, now whoever calls on His name would be saved. As you call on Him, you will be forgiven and you will be made brand new. But get this, here's what He wants in return: He doesn't want a part of your life, He wants all of your life. Salvation is free, but when you belong to Him, you give Him your life, I want to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. At all of our locations, those of you who would say, That's me! I know it, I can sense it, that's why I'm here today. I am ready to give my life to Him, I want to be new. Jesus, my life is not my own, I surrender it to you. Make me new, save me! I give my life to you! If that's your prayer today at all of our locations, lift your hands high right now! Lift them up and say, Yes, that's my prayer! I call on Him! Those of you at Church Online; just below me, you click right below me and say, Yes! I am giving my life to Christ today! At all of our different churches, would you all just take a moment and pray this prayer aloud together. Everybody pray! Pray Heavenly Father, I am a sinner and I need a Savior. Jesus save me, forgive me, change me, make me brand new. I believe you died for me and you rose again so I could live for you. Fill me with your Spirit because my life is no longer my own. I have been bought with your blood. I am your disciple. Thank you for new life, now you have mine. I give it to you. Use it to love like you love, to live like you live, and to do what you did. In Jesus name I pray! All of our churches, would you take a moment and thank God. Welcome those today born into His family!