Do as Jesus does.

“As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will send you out to fish for people.’ At once they left their nets and followed Him. Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him. Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about Him spread all over Syria, and people brought to Him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and He healed them. Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed Him. Now when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him, and He began to teach them.” —Matthew 4.18-5.2

“When Jesus saw the crowd around Him, He gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. Then a teacher of the law came to Him and said, ‘Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.’ Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.’ Another disciple said to Him, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ But Jesus told Him, ‘Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.’” —Matthew 8.18-22

“As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. ‘Follow me,’ He told him, and Matthew got up and followed Him. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ On hearing this, Jesus said, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice [Hosea 6.6].” For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’” —Matthew 9.9-13

“Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.’ Jesus called His twelve disciples to Him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him. These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: ‘Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, proclaim this message: “The kingdom of heaven has come near.” Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.’” —Matthew 9.35-10.8

“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’” —Matthew 28.16-20

4 Stages of Apprenticeship

I do, you watch
I do, you help
You do, I help
You do, I watch

The end goal of apprenticeship to Jesus is to

Reveal Answer

as He does.

The Kingdom Work of Jesus

Preaching the Gospel
Teaching the Way
Healing the Sick
Casting out demons
Eating & Drinking with People Far from God
Doing Justice
Peacemaking
Praying
Prophesying
Standing Up Against Religious & Political Corruption

“But Jesus was God! Right?”

Everything Jesus did, He did as a real, true human being empowered by the Holy Spirit as the example for His apprentices to follow.

“Whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing…” —Jesus, John 14.12a

“They will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” —Jesus, John 14.12b

“New Testament scholars debate what exactly Jesus means here by ‘greater things than these.’ But on this they align: Whatever He means by ‘greater things,’ He doesn’t mean lessor things.” —John Mark Comer, Practicing the Way

The problem is we live in a very complex and challenging culture.

Church: a community of followers of Jesus, seeking to re-discover the teachings of Jesus and the practices of the early Church and apply them to the soil of a post-Christian world.

Intentional Spiritual Formation:

Know your stage of discipleship & season of life.

“What would Jesus do…if He were me?”

Do not under-estimate the power of practicing the Way of Jesus in Community.

“Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.” —1st Peter 2.11-12

“There is special evangelistic work to be done, of course, and there are special callings to it. But if those in the Churches really are enjoying fullness of life, evangelism will be unstoppable and largely automatic. The local assembly, for its part, can then become an academy where people throng from the surrounding community to learn how to live. It will be a school of life (for a disciple is but a pupil, a student) where all aspects of that life seen in the New Testament records are practiced and mastered under those who have themselves mastered them through practice. Only by taking this as our immediate goal can we intend to carry out the Great Commission.” —Dallas Willard

Start with the basics: eat with people far from God.

What Jesus did:

“The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” —Luke 19.10

How Jesus did it:

“The Son of Man came eating and drinking.” —Luke 7.34

Live in the moment.

Practice(s):
1. Solitude: Take the “Spiritual Health Reflection” in The Way’s app or at practicingtheway.org.
2. Scripture: Read the “Practicing the Way” Bible reading plan in the YouVersion Bible app.
3. Community: Join a Life Group.

“I must talk about God, or I cannot keep Him in my mind. I must give Him away in order to have Him.” —Frank Charles Laubach, Letters by a Modern Mystic