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Why We Should Pursue Discipleship

Besides being commanded by Jesus in Matthew 28, discipleship is what makes the authentic Christian world go round. In our current social climate, understanding the biblical basis for discipleship has never been more important.

You Can't Get Closer to God

You can't get closer to God. Once you understand this, it could open your eyes to something very, very cool that you might have been missing in your spiritual walk. This is for saved people.

See, it's common to hear Christians say, "We need to get closer to God." It's kind of like this Christian thing that we say. I know. I've said it and I still say it from time to time as I verbalize without thinking. But the deal is that we get to imagining that we'll get closer as we spend more time in the word or in prayer or any other spiritual growth activities. But I'm here to proclaim to you today that biblically getting closer to God if you are saved is impossible.

Let's look at it first:

You don't get any closer than in Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:22 says, "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive."

You don't get any closer than Christ being in you. Colossians 1:27 says, "To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."

You don't get any closer than being united with Christ. Romans 6:5 says, "For if we have been united with him in death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his."

You don't get any closer than being one spirit with the Lord. 1 Corinthians 6:17 says, "But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him."

Think about it. If you're going to try to get closer to God, what are you going to do? What would it take? Would a dozen more Bible studies do it? How about doubling your prayer time? Would that get it done? How about five more visits to church this week? Are you now closer to Christ? And after you've completed those activities, how would you know you're now closer? Would closeness be a super feeling? Would it be knowing thought confidence? Kind of a zen emotional thing? How would you ever really verify that this closeness just happened for you?

See, I thank the Lord that his ways are not feelings. Because my emotions are all over the place sometimes. They're not feelings or emotions, but they are facts. Biblical facts. The scripture makes so clear our closeness to God.

How We Are Already Close

How do we find ourselves close to him? Not through anything we've done. No, it's the blood of Jesus that has brought us close. It is the resurrection of Jesus that put us in God's family forever as his children and made us one with Jesus forever. We've been given the free gift of perfect closeness that can't be improved upon.

There's no road to closeness. There's no progress that can be made to get you any closer than the saved believer already is. It's settled, bought, and paid for with Jesus's blood, and he delivered us into the resurrection of Christ, right into the resurrected life. Please don't settle for anything less than knowing you are utterly absolutely as close as you will ever be to Jesus and Christ is your life.

Jesus prayed in John 17 that they may be one just as we are one and I in them and you in me and that they may be perfected in unity. I in them and you in me and they may be perfected in unity. Later in the same chapter, he said, I desire that they also whom you have given me be with me where I am. Jesus' prayer was answered and we are placed in Christ and Christ was placed in us. I read where a Bible teacher calls it fused. I like that. Fused together. We're fused together with Jesus. We're one spirit with him.

This closeness is a subtle deal. It's the result of God reaching down, raising us up into newness of life, placing us in Jesus at God's right hand. Closeness is God's incredible gift at the moment of salvation. And you can't make headway, advance, or progress it. You'll never add one ounce to your salvation. You'll never add one inch to your closeness in God.

The Problem of Human Comparison

See, the problem comes when we as humans try to express our closeness to God. Confusion sets in when we try to adopt our human-to-human relationships with our human-to-God relationship. We take our relationships with other people as models and then project them onto the relationship we have with Jesus.

We might say, "Well, I met my spouse and we dated for seven months. We were growing closer and then we got married and we're still growing closer to this day. And isn't that the same with God?" No, of course we do learn more about God's love over time. We experience more of God in our human understanding. It's called the sanctification process called growing in the Lord. But ultimately, the analogy of human relationships falls way, way, way short and can lead to confusion.

God is not human. Our relationship with him is not the same as our human relationships. Was the blood sacrifice required to bring us into union with our spouse? No. Was death and resurrection involved in our human marriage? No. Has a spouse or child or any other close human relationship ever joined to us spiritually so much so that they live within us and us and them? No. None of that takes place in human relationships.

What About "Draw Near to God"?

So what about James 4:8 where it says and it's quoted, "Draw near to God and he will draw near to you." Well, I'm glad you asked. Let's look at it. James 4:8 says the following. It says, "Draw near to God and he'll draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded."

What's the first thing you should notice? Who's James talking to? He's talking to sinners, not saints. Specifically, he is addressing a Jewish audience who is double-minded. How they were wishy-washy about who Jesus actually was. Was Jesus crazy? Is he the Messiah? Is he blasphemous? Is he a dangerous threat to our way of life? Who is Jesus? A nice-sized chunk of the New Testament, particularly Hebrews, was written to urge Jewish audience to make their minds up about Jesus.

This passage in James is encouraging the locals to quit the double-mindedness and come and wash in the blood of Jesus once and for all. See, they obviously do not yet have an obedient heart. They do not yet have the new life in Christ. James calls them sinners, not saints. That they need to purify their hearts. They are unbelievers.

Our Permanent Bond

As saved believers, we are permanently bonded to Jesus. We have been united with Christ in both his death and his resurrection. We've been baptized, spiritually placed into Christ, and we've been clothed with Christ. Look at Galatians 3:27. "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ."

See, we're as spiritually close to Jesus as we're ever going to get. God cleansed us up entirely and then moved in. Now, just beneath our flesh and bones is everything that we call ourselves, there is residing with us the one, the one who sacrificed for us and became our substitute, and he's with us forever. If you are soundly saved, you're immortal from here on out. This flesh may die, but you never will. That's why it's called the good news.

You're Already Seated in the Front Row

Let's take a look at Ephesians chapter 2:4-6:

"But God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved and raises us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus."

Did you see what this is? This is spiritual geography. God made us alive, put us in union together with Christ, raises us up and seats us with Jesus in heaven. Every single person is somewhere. They are either in Adam or in Christ. We are in Christ. We are seated next to him in heaven. Right next to God. Wow.

Kind of makes this life feel kind of lame, doesn't it? Most places we go in life, we usually seat ourselves. But in this case, we had help. God himself pulled us up out of Adam and placed us in Christ because Jesus is seated next to God. So are we. We have the best seat in the house.

Ever remember being in school or somewhere and somebody, you know, you wanted the good seat to be at the cool lunch table or whatever. And we just love to belong and to hear the words, "Hey, sit with me. Sit with me." That just always makes every human being feel good, right? That's the dealio. God has said this to us. He has prepared a seat for us right next to him. The very best seat in the house. Then he says, "Come sit with me. Come sit with me."

People say, "Jesus loves you." Yes, that's what he's saying. Jesus loves you. Come, come to me. I love you. I created you. I want you to be next to me forever. That's the love of Christ. And in our society, we reduce it down to this human-to-human understanding of "he gets us" - pathetic in the light of the truth of scripture.

At salvation, we accepted this invitation and now we enjoy the same spiritual closeness that Jesus gives us. That's worth getting up in the morning, isn't it? That's worth giving of your time, talents, and treasure for the world to come. And then this life actually gets lighter, especially when you got people that you can walk alongside with that are also sold out to Jesus. It's an amazing thing.

The Gift That's Involved in the Perfect Closeness to God

And so now it's finally time for us to read our text today. It's Romans 12 and it's really verse two, but I added verse one because I really want you to get the full weight of what's being said here. Really take a look at this one:

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God to present your bodies as living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

So, if we're chasing after closeness with God, you can forget about it. Closeness to God is a gift. And if you know Jesus has been given to you, this is an all-or-nothing deal. There's zero middle ground. If you are pregnant, can you get more pregnant? Nothing we can do will get us any closer. We're already made perfectly close when God brought us into union with Christ at salvation. Closeness is a fact, not a feeling.

It's true that we are told in 2 Peter chapter 3:18: "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." We're growing in the knowledge of Jesus. Our understanding is improving as we get to know how amazing God really is. This is the renewing of our minds. Think downloading a brand new operating system.

We are dumping old attitudes and adopting new outlooks, new perspectives. It is so much better and greater than behavior modification. Well, I'm saved now, so I guess I can't do this and I can't do that. No, you're downloading a whole new operating system and it's new perspectives every day. It's so that the senses we're in a process but it is not a process of inching closer and closer to our heavenly father.

True Following Hard After God

When we're saved, we are babies in Christ and we really don't know how good God is. All we know is that he saved us. From there we begin the journey. But it's not a journey in the sense of trekking down a path to get close, but it's more of a hike up the mountain of understanding. Clarity and depths and heights, not proximity. Follow. We are in him and he is in us every moment along the way.

We'll embark on a beautiful lifelong journey to discover the glory of the inheritance of his saints. Psalm 63:8 says this, "My soul clings to you. Your right hand upholds me." It is always him upholding us. And remember, he pursued us first. He pursued us first. He pursued us first. He will prod us along. He will push us along. But he'll also let us stand there if we get stubborn.

We're going to stumble. We're going to fall. We're going to make mistakes. We're going to have a behavior that's licked and all a sudden, boom, it comes back and slaps us in the face one more time. I don't know what it is for you, but I know what it is for me and it's a couple different issues and they just don't stay dormant. But when I'm pursuing that mountain of understanding in Christ, I recognize my sin and I aggressively repent just as much as I would aggressively try to pursue something.

Thirsting for God

Psalm 42:1-2 kind of paints this picture:

"As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, oh God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?"

If you are deep, this is calling the deep to do what? It's calling the people that are deep with Christ to do what? To go deeper. The longing of the heart will understand this. The spirit will take you there. John 17:3 says this, "And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."

Listen to A.W. Tozer's quote on this. He said, "The continuous and unembarrassed interchange of love and thought between God and the soul of the redeemed man is the throbbing heart of New Testament religion." Tozer died in the 60s, so in the 50s and stuff when he was writing this "New Testament religion," we wouldn't say it that way today. Religion carries too much of a connotation. And what Tozer would say in our language was that this is a throbbing heart of the authentic Christian.

Examples of Those Who Sought God Deeply

You come in contact with men and women of the past who went deep with God and you can't help but feel the warmth of their desire for God. They mourned for him. They prayed. They wrestled. They sought him day and night. And when they found him, the finding was all the sweeter for the long seeking. They found him in deeper knowledge and understanding, not in proximity.

Moses used this fact that he knew God as an argument for knowing God better. Let me say that one more time. I don't want you to miss this. Moses used the fact that he knew God as an argument for wanting to know him better. Exodus 33:13 says:

"Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people."

Do you see that? Few verses later, he says, "Please show me your glory." God was pleased with this and rewarded Moses for his desire. And he called him up on the mountain the next day.

How about David? David had a huge capacity and energy for spiritual desire. The Psalms ring out with the heart cry of the seeker alongside the shout of the finder. Paul rocked it in the very similar manner in his own way. Check it out. Philippians 3:8-10 says this:

"Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus Christ as my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him. Not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith. And he closes out verse 10 by saying that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and may share in his sufferings becoming like him in death."

Now, let's hold right there for a second. Absorb that passage for a second. That I may gain Christ. That I may be found in him. That which comes through faith in Christ that I may know him in his resurrection. Now, let's add the next verse. Verse 11 says "that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead."

The Result: Changed Lives

So what's going on here? What's going on when we come to church on Sunday? What's going on when you're walking around in your discipleship way of life? What's on the line? Is it not life and death? Is life and death not on the line in all of this?

That's what we come to celebrate is new life in Christ. I want to straight up and as persuasively as possible encourage all people that hear this message to cultivate and pursue a mighty longing for God. So that by doing so, the renewing of your mind in Christ will happen. And when it happens, it'll change the way you do things.

It'll change the way that you pursue discipleship. It'll change the way you pursue the great commission. It'll change the way that you interact with your spouse. It'll change the way that you interact with, you know, anybody that's in your life.

I do know people around the country, and I know there are some here in Harlem that I know personally that I hold up as examples of business people who do things the right way. And every single one of them, I believe, is in Christ. You see what I'm saying? It changes everything. And not only that, but your steps are lighter on our way to the grave.

The reality is that this does come to an end. The reality is we don't know what's around the corner, but when we talk about the limbic system inside the human brain, they're going to try to program it. If you really read Revelation, you see that when the great tribulation starts to come, there is no more salvation. Salvation's done. People cannot actually have salvation. If you have AI merged with the conscience, that's going to put Christ alongside of all the other religions. That's why I can't stand that coexist bumper sticker. The little cross at the end puts Jesus on par with everybody else. Absolutely not. This is the son of God who lived the perfect life, died for me, put me inside him, and is transforming my mind so I can live a better life for him. Right?

Don't you be putting Jesus on the same line as all those other fake redeemers or whatever you want to call them. So, I'm going to end with another pass over our chosen text for today:

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."