January 14, 2025 • 33 mins
What does it truly mean to live a life that matters? Uncover transformative insights from Luke's gospel as we navigate the profound journey of discipleship. We're not just talking about gaining knowledge or adhering to rituals; we're exploring a life reshaped by love, prayer, and relationships. This episode promises to challenge your understanding of what it means to follow Jesus, as we unpack four compelling stories that each offer a unique perspective on spiritual growth and transformation.
As we explore the interconnected nature of discipleship, we delve into the parable of the Good Samaritan and the conversation between Jesus and a religious law expert from Luke chapter 10. The dialogue probes deep questions about love, compassion, and what it means to inherit eternal life, breaking down cultural barriers and urging us to redefine our concept of 'neighbor.' We also highlight the importance of persistent prayer, advocating for a balance between rest and work, and teaching the audacity of approaching God with the openness of a child.
This episode is a call to action, inviting you to integrate prayer into your daily life as a relationship-building tool with God. Through personal stories and practical tips, we imagine a community where acts of love and kindness are not the exception but the norm. Reflect on your spiritual journey as we encourage you to take a step this week—whether through compassionate action, dedicated prayer, or another form of spiritual engagement—and witness the ripple effect of your discipleship in the world.
If you enjoyed this episode, consider subscribing to Madison Church on your favorite podcast platform. Your feedback means the world to us, so please take a moment to leave a review and share the podcast with your friends and family.
For inquiries, suggestions, or collaboration opportunities, please reach out to us at help@madisonchurch.com.
For the latest updates and behind-the-scenes content, follow us on social media:
New episodes are released every Monday, so mark your calendars and join us weekly!
If you'd like to support the show, you can make a donation here. Your generosity helps us continue to bring you meaningful content.
This podcast is intended for general informational purposes only. The views expressed by the hosts or guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Madison Church. Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk. For detailed information regarding our terms of use and privacy policy, please visit our website.
Thank you for being part of the Madison Church community! We appreciate your support.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to our Madison Church Online audience.
I'm Stephen Feith, lead pastorhere.
We want to invite you to joinus sometime soon in person,
because Madison Church really isa community.
It's not just about the contentcreation that we do, but really
is about connecting people withGod and each other, which is
quite difficult when you'rewatching on YouTube or listening
on podcasts.
And we're all here in the roomToday we're continuing what's
(00:23):
going to be a very, very longseries taking us all the way to
Easter, and it's called A Lifethat Matters.
And if you're joining us for thefirst time or you're joining us
for the first time in a longtime, we have been going through
Luke's gospel on and off forover a year now and I was
thinking about this when I wasdriving in.
I was like I should explain topeople why we do this, because
(00:44):
maybe if you've been lookingaround at churches or you've
gone to other churches, you knowthat sometimes they do series
by topics and it'll be like howcan a good God allow pain and
suffering?
And we do that here from timeto time.
Other times you do one on atopic like how can I hear from
God, and we actually did one ofthose last fall, but for the
majority of the time at MadisonChurch we're going to go kind of
(01:04):
verse by verse through entirebooks of the Bible.
I personally kind of feel likethat's a lost art in our society
.
I liken it to, if you canremember a long time ago, dvds
and you'd put the DVD on and youcould skip to the chapter you
wanted.
But if you were watching aBatman movie or a Superman movie
and you skipped to chapterseven and then you stopped, and
(01:25):
the next day you watched chaptereight and you stopped, and then
you never went back to it again, you wouldn't really know the
story of what happened.
And so I found it hugelyimpactful in my own spiritual
journey to go word by word andverse by verse and chapter by
chapter to see what is theauthor, whoever wrote this
originally, what were theytrying to communicate in the
(01:45):
entirety of their story.
And because I know that it isdifficult from where you're
sitting and where I'm standingand when I write, it'd be
difficult to do a straight shotbecause we'd be in Luke every
Sunday for two years, and so wedo break it up.
That is how we've been in thisseries for over a year and a
half.
But in this particular portionof Luke we're talking about
(02:09):
discipleship, because that'swhat Luke is writing about.
If we're going on an arc hereof Luke's story, we have Jesus
being born, the Christmasnarrative, the prediction that
Jesus was going to be here, andwe see Jesus prepped for
ministry, baptized by the HolySpirit, sent out and tested, and
then we see Jesus going allaround the Sea of Galilee doing
these miracles.
(02:29):
And what Luke has beenintentionally trying to show you
is that he was prophesied, hewas empowered and he's doing all
of those things.
And now Luke is transitioningas we're heading into Jerusalem
with Jesus and we know Jesus isgoing to die.
And where Luke is beginning totransition is discipleship.
Luke feels like he's alreadymade the case for Jesus's
(02:51):
Messiahship.
Jesus is who we claimed he was.
So what?
What does that mean for you andme today?
And what Luke is arguing isdiscipleship is not about head
knowledge or adherence toreligious rules.
I think oftentimes that's whatwe think discipleship is.
When we think of discipleship,we think who has gone to
(03:11):
seminary, who has the master'sdegree in theology, who is the
pastor, who are they certifiedwith and ordained?
And those are good things.
Those are not bad things, butwe're not different classes.
You and I were both disciplesof Jesus at the end of the day.
You and me, we're bothfollowing him, a lot of us doing
(03:32):
it to the best of our abilityand myself, just like you,
coming up short a lot.
What Luke wants us to see isthat discipleship is about a
transformed life, one shaped bylove, relationship and prayer,
and this is why, for some of youwho are kind of older or more
mature Christians, thatsometimes it feels like there's
(03:53):
a little bit of a disconnectwith God because transformation
starts to slow down, because thethings being transformed are
deep in here.
So when you first find andfollow Jesus, it's easy to say
this changed or that changed andthis improved and that improved
because there's a lot oflow-hanging fruit and as we
follow Jesus, he's revealingthings to us that we didn't know
(04:17):
were in here.
He's bringing that out of us,and so that is what discipleship
is, and today we're gonna covera whole out of us, and so that
is what discipleship is, andtoday we're going to cover a
whole bunch of stories.
We're going to cover four bigones that can be entire messages
on their own.
They really can be, as a matterof fact, one of the verses I'm
going to read today.
We did like a nine-part serieson it two years ago and I'll
(04:39):
mention that a little bit later.
But today I'm tying all ofthese stories together because I
want you to see, discipleshipisn't just me and Jesus, it's
not just my verticalrelationship with God.
What Luke is going to show youis that discipleship has a very
horizontal angle to it as well,and it's your relationship with
your neighbors, and who is yourneighbor?
(05:00):
It's your relationship withJesus, certainly, and it's also
our relationship with Godthrough prayer.
All of these things are vitalaspects to discipleship.
They're interconnectedrealities at the heart of what
it means to follow Christ.
And so, as we go through today,a couple questions maybe to
just throw out there for you tothink about.
(05:20):
How are you living out yourlove for others?
How do you living out your lovefor others?
How do you live out your lovefor others?
That's a discipleship question.
Are you prioritizing Jesus inthe midst of life's busyness?
Who here is busy?
Right, all of us.
Okay, are we prioritizing?
(05:41):
Do we say in the midst of mybusyness?
Do I still prioritize myrelationship, my discipleship
journey?
Do we approach God in prayerwith confidence and the
persistence that Jesusencourages us to, and so we're
going to Luke, chapter 10.
That's where we left off lastweek.
If you want to follow along, wehave house Bibles.
The words will be on the screenand as we dive into the text,
(06:02):
we're going to find Jesus at thecenter.
This first story is at thecenter of a challenging
conversation, as a religious lawexpert has come up to him and
asked him a question.
It's not really a question tolearn.
He's actually asking thisquestion to stump Jesus.
So, like I said, jesus isalready going around the Sea of
Galilee, he already has thisreputation, and so one of the
(06:25):
religious leaders says I'm goingto stump Jesus.
It's a question that I think isat the core of discipleship for
all of us, and he asked whatdoes it mean to like, truly mean
to inherit eternal life,teacher?
What should I do to inheriteternal life?
That's kind of maybe some ofthe questions that we have today
, like what do I need to do togo to heaven?
Or some of us ask it like Idon't want to go to hell, and so
(06:47):
what do I got to do to avoidthat?
You know, and that's thequestion.
Jesus asks a very kind of likepastoral professor type way, he
responds he says what does thelaw of Moses say and how do you
read it?
So two questions.
He says what's written in theOld Testament, because you're
the expert, and how do youinterpret it?
(07:08):
So Jesus is acknowledgingthere's going to be two things
working here.
There's going to be what youread and how you understand it,
and the man would not have beensurprised by that.
This is how rabbis would haveanswered those questions.
And the man asked he says well,you must love the Lord, your
God, with all your heart, allyour soul, all your strength and
all your mind, and love yourneighbor as yourself.
(07:28):
So this is what it's writtenand what the man is implying is
that if I do this this is how Iunderstand it I will get eternal
life.
And Jesus says right, do thisand you will live.
Now, here's the thing about this.
I didn't realize this untilthis week as I was studying for
this passage.
There is a Jewish book that'snot in our Old Testament, it's
(07:50):
in the Apocrypha, if you have aCatholic background.
But basically there's a commandin there that says to the
Israelites, the people of God,you should help one another out
other Israelites and only theones who follow God, because if
you help a sinner you'rebringing shame on yourself.
(08:10):
So the expert in religious lawagain, this isn't in our Bible,
but this is in the kind of theApocrypha, these extra texts
that don't make it in, butthey're saying hey, love other
Levite priests, love otherJewish people who are serving
God.
Well, what about my enemy?
No, don't do that.
And so then Jesus goes into thestory which we're all familiar
(08:33):
with the Good Samaritan.
And again, I could teach anentire message on this, but
we're just going to fly over it.
But he says you know, there's aman, he's on the road, he's
left for dead.
And he's left for dead, jewishleader goes by, priest goes by,
no one helps him.
And then all of a sudden thisno good Samaritan walks by.
And you got to think like themost blatant forms of racism
here, the most blatant, theythought Samaritans, the Jewish
(08:54):
people did, were half breeds,that was the language they used
half breed, not fully human.
You think back on Americanhistory, right, and think of
some of that language.
Three fifths of a person, thisis the language they're using.
Of some of that language,three-fifths of a person.
This is the language they'reusing.
And Jesus uses this languageand he says the Samaritan comes
by and helps him.
It doesn't just like pat him onthe back, doesn't offer
thoughts and prayers, but takeshim to the inn, pays for
(09:15):
everything.
And not only that, he opens atab and says hey, do whatever
you need to do to make sure thisguy's taken care of, not just
going to come in at theintervent like right away, oh,
there's a crisis, we'll send theteam out real quick and then
leave.
The Samaritan says I'm going tomake sure that, you know,
everything is taken care of frombeginning to end.
(09:37):
Says that the Samaritan camealong and he felt compassion for
him.
And Jesus says who was theneighbor to this man?
And Jesus says who is theneighbor to this man?
Well, this Jewish guy, thisexpert of religious law, hates
the Samaritan so much.
You have to read this in yourown Bible, I don't have it up on
the screen.
He can't even call him aSamaritan.
(09:58):
That's how much he hates thisguy.
He can't even say the Samaritan.
He says well, there's you know,obviously, that last person who
kind of came in and helped.
That's how big the hatred was.
And Jesus is trying to show.
This is what the law requiresof you.
And if you think about it, inthe story he's saying who is the
(10:18):
neighbor?
He's highlighting the goodnessof the Samaritan.
The Samaritan is the neighbor,and so what you need to catch is
what Jesus is saying to thisexpert of religious law be like
the Samaritan in my story, whichwould have been just utterly
offensive.
They would have written Jesusoff altogether.
But that's what Jesus says weare to do.
And today, no doubt in ourworld, we still live in a very
(10:43):
diverse society plagued withdiscrimination.
We still do to this day whetherthat's racial discrimination.
In a very diverse societyplagued with discrimination.
We still do to this day Whetherthat's racial discrimination.
But we also have economicissues, we have political
differences, there are differentcultural barriers and these
things kind of define for us whoour neighbor is.
And probably the most difficultthing that I'm going to tell you
(11:05):
this entire year if it doesn'tseem difficult, you're not
thinking about it hard enoughthe most difficult thing I'm
going to ask you is that youknow, discipleship demands love
that transcends those boundariesPolitical.
So you've got to love the.
Make America great again people.
Make America great again,people.
(11:29):
You got to love the otherpeople who voted for Kamala or
Bernie.
You even got to love the peoplewho are so, like, devastated
about the political climate inthe United States.
They don't vote for anybody.
You're like that's hard, Ican't do that.
They're so hateful Like theyright or they're so stupid or
whatever your brand of narrationis for your enemy.
(11:50):
And Jesus says in the storythat's the neighbor If they do.
You know these things.
And so he calls us to do that.
To those who hate us, jesuscalls us to love them.
That's exceptionally difficult.
We could leave right now today,not talk about anything else for
(12:12):
the rest of the year, just keepcoming back to this moment
every week for the next year,and I bet by the end of it we're
still going to say we're reallystruggling with this.
But the thing is, is Christlike love is not passive?
Christ like love is active.
It's active and it's modeled bythe Samaritan's compassion and
it's active toward those weconsider outsiders.
Jesus is going to say a littlebit later on that like, okay,
(12:33):
you love your enemies or youlove your friends, those who do
good, but who cares Likeeveryone does, that Everyone has
this little basic inclination.
You're going to help those whohelp you.
But what sets us apart asfollowers of Jesus?
Not just if we love, but howwell we love those who aren't in
this space.
Here we're going to go down toverse 41.
(12:56):
We're coming up to the scene ofthe two sisters, mary and Martha
.
It is a scene many of us canrelate to.
You're going to relate to onecharacter most likely in this
story, but Jesus uses anordinary situation to teach an
extraordinary truth aboutdiscipleship.
So Martha is in the kitchen,she's working this is what she
would have been expected to doas a woman at this time and her
(13:17):
sister, mary, is just chillingwith Jesus in the other room.
For those of you who have hadto prepare Christmas dinners and
Thanksgiving feasts and youknow what it's like to be in the
kitchen and you're doing amillion things.
And in the other room you hearpeople like laughing and they're
not helping, they're justwaiting for you to work.
You can imagine Martha is justanger Like I'm doing all of this
work and you slackers in there.
(13:38):
I mean she wouldn't have calledJesus that.
But you can imagine she'spissed off at her sister and
Jesus says to her my dear Martha, you are worried and upset over
all these details.
There's only one thing worthbeing concerned about, and Mary
has discovered it, and it willnot be taken away from her.
So, yes, women in the firstcentury there were expected to
(14:00):
manage the householdresponsibilities, and they,
furthermore, they definitelyshould not have been sitting at
the feet of a rabbi as adisciple.
That was a spot reserved forother men.
But Mary breaks cultural norms.
She finds herself at the feetof Jesus and it shows us that
discipleship is for everyone,not just men, not just women,
(14:21):
not just Jew Gentile, it's forall of us.
And Jesus doesn't just allowMary to sit and listen.
He doesn't just say it's okay,he affirms her decision.
He affirms it by elevatingpresence with him above the
busyness of service.
He says Mary's here and she'sjust enjoying my presence.
Leave her be Now.
(14:41):
That's not a rebuke thatMartha's hospitality and she's
working, I mean Now, that's nota rebuke that Martha's
hospitality and she's working.
I mean.
Service is a vital aspect to ourfaith.
This is a spiritual discipline.
We are to serve one another.
But Martha's distraction andfrustration revealed the danger
(15:02):
of letting our activity, ourgood deeds, overshadow our
connection with Christ.
Yes, what she was doing waswell-meaning.
It was well-meaning work, butit became a barrier to deeper
understanding what was right infront of her, which was Jesus
himself.
And I think that this reveals astruggle that you and I in the
United States Western context2025, feel a lot, and it's the
(15:25):
difference between doing andbeing, and I think that all of
us fall into one or two campsand we feel pressure by the
other one.
Okay, if we're doers, we feelpressure to do a little less,
and if we're beers, we feelpressure, we got to do something
.
And that's okay, becausediscipleship requires an
intentional rhythm, a holy ebband flow.
(15:48):
There's rest and there's work,and there's rest and there's
work, there's presence and thenthere's productivity.
And just as your body needsactivity like exercise or
intellectually to read a book,it also needs rest to recover
and to thrive.
It also needs rest to recoverand to thrive.
(16:08):
So is for our spiritual livesto flourish, we have to have
that ebb and flow of rest andwork, and without this rhythm,
you will experience, without adoubt, burnout, distraction or
even missing the presence of Godin your life.
What makes it socounter-cultural is that you are
praised, not just praised.
(16:29):
You are rewarded forproductivity, you get the raise
and the promotion, you get moremoney.
You can buy the new boat, thenewer house, you can buy the
newer car If you are moreproductive than the other person
, and if you're not productive,you lose your job.
It's punishment, and soeverything in our society says
go, go, go, go, go, sacrificeeverything.
But here Jesus reminds usthat's not his ask of you as a
(16:54):
disciple.
He's not asking you to go, go,go, go go.
He's not going to punish you ifyou take a break.
He wants you to be with him andto sit at his feet.
Our work must flow out of aheart grounded in Christ.
Otherwise you'll just feeloverwhelmed with all of the
(17:14):
things you need to do for Christ, and that's not what he's
asking of you.
We continue reading and we getdown to one of the most intimate
and instructive moments ofJesus's ministry, when he
teaches his disciples how topray.
And, as I mentioned, as we weregetting going, we did an entire
like seven, eight, nine.
I can't remember how many partswe did, but it was a seven,
eight, nine part series on thispassage.
(17:35):
It was called how to Pray, andso you can find that on our
YouTube channel BuzzsproutPodcast is the word I'm looking
for.
But in the passage where Jesusteaches them how to pray, he
says this is how you should pray.
Father, may your name be keptholy.
May your kingdom come soon.
Give us each day the food weneed and forgive us our sins, as
we forgive those who sinagainst us, and don't let us
(17:57):
yield to temptation.
And the reason I'm talkingabout this just very briefly
today is that his disciples cometo him and they say hey, we've
been taught all of these otherways to pray, there's all of
these different ways to pray.
If you grew up again going backto this kind of idea, if you
grew up with a Catholicbackground like there are
certain prayers you're supposedto say at certain times and you
say these things back and yourecite them and it's liturgy and
(18:18):
so what, that's been happeningfor 2000 years.
It was happening to the Jewishfollowers of.
I say we've seen all of thesedifferent ways to pray.
We're wondering Jesus, what isthe right way to pray?
Because what they noticed waslike you know, when Jesus prays,
like people come back from thedead, they're like healed of
leprosy, people like walk onwater.
You know, it's like completelya different experience when
Jesus prays.
And so they're asking, likewhat is the secret?
(18:41):
And what Jesus tells them isyou can pray like this, but he's
not providing a model to bememorized later.
I think that's the worst use ofthe Lord's Prayer, like his
whole thing in doing this was toshow them there is no model
that you come to the Fatherintimately, call him Dad, hey
Dad, and come and say your needs.
I've been reading this book byRichard Foster, celebration of
(19:03):
Discipline, and there's thisimage that pops out and it's so
good because I've got three kidsand they're nine, seven and
three, and they ask foreverything shamelessly
Shamelessly Money, food, drinks,more screen time.
They just shamelessly everytime they ask, and it's like
(19:26):
they don't consider that, likesomebody goes out and buys the
bread and the peanut butter forthose peanut butter sandwiches.
They have no concept that likewe could run out, they just
always assume we're stocked.
And Foster says do we approachGod with that same audacity?
Do you approach God likethere's an unlimited source of
(19:47):
sandwiches in the pantry?
Unashamed, not guilty, boldly?
The nice thing is is I won'trespond to you like I respond to
my kids, because God is a lotbetter at that than I am.
But I'll be like, oh my gosh.
Yes, in a minute I'll get youthe sandwich.
How can you be hungry?
You've been eating goldfishover there all day, you know.
(20:08):
But, god, it says that this ishow I want you to approach me.
Approach me with a childlikefaith.
What do you need?
Have you thought about that anddo you keep asking God?
God, this is what I need, not amemorized prayer, not liturgy.
Do you come to him like a kid?
(20:29):
Honestly, authentically.
Prayer not only connects us toGod, but it binds us together as
his people.
What we see in that passage isa lot of our language and us
language.
Jesus is showing that prayerisn't just an individual
activity.
I know a lot of us see it likethat.
We pray at night, or we pray inthe morning, or we journal.
When Jesus teaches hisdisciples how to pray, he prays,
(20:53):
tells them to pray together.
And so my ask then for you islike where does that show up in
your life?
Perhaps a small group, perhapswith a spouse or your family,
but we pray together.
And if you think that there'ssomething wrong with this whole
idea, like what if I kept askingfor the sandwich, I kept asking
for this thing from God?
Don't I come across as likenagging, and doesn't God get
(21:15):
tired of that?
Jesus puts that to rest Luke 11, verse nine.
So I tell you, keep on askingand you will receive what you
ask for.
Keep on seeking and you willfind.
Keep on knocking and the doorwill be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receivesand everyone who seeks finds.
(21:36):
And to everyone who knocks thedoor will be opened.
And these words would haveresonated very deeply with that
original audience that Jesus isspeaking to.
They understood persistence inprayer and this was a virtue.
And yet Jesus adds the boldassurance, just in case you were
(21:56):
wondering it's okay, keepasking.
It's okay, it's all right, thatthing you've been asking for,
that your heart desires.
It's okay to keep asking, evenif the answer is no.
Keep asking, because whathappens in prayer?
We become more Christ-like.
What happens in prayer,regardless of what we're praying
(22:18):
for, we're in communion withGod.
He wants us to pray and we'rein communion.
Maybe we're asking for the wrongthings, but how will we know
unless we ask?
How will my kids ever knowthere's more than just peanut
butter and jelly in the fridgeor in the cabinets if they don't
ask for something else?
So you ask and you seek and youknock and maybe it's not the
thing that you originally wereseeking, the door you were
(22:40):
originally knocking on andperhaps through that the Spirit
of God leads you to this placewhere the door does open.
And you look back and it'slow-hanging fruit to say this,
but I got to say it, like once ayear.
But you know, it's like howmany of you, like in junior high
or in kindergarten like prayedfor that, like girlfriend or
boyfriend, you're like, oh God,I want to marry them.
They're so perfect.
No-transcript, I mean not thatthat happens in kindergarten,
(23:12):
but you know what I'm like?
Ah, devastating.
And now we have devastatingproblems as adults.
And God says keep asking, don'tgive up, I'm going to take you
where I want you to go.
What about those seasons wherepersistence feels impossible?
You've been asking and askingand asking for years.
(23:37):
There's something.
There's years I've got stufflike that, things I've been
asking for years.
God, should I keep asking orshould I just give up?
Should I move on?
Why am I not getting the lessonI'm supposed to get?
This is when doubts creep in,when God feels distance, when
prayers seem to go unanswered.
This teaching from Jesus doesnot deny those moments.
(23:58):
He's not trying to gaslight youor toxic positivity you or
anything like that.
It doesn't deny those moments,but instead what Jesus is doing
is inviting you to lean into himharder.
You got doubts, great, bringthem to me.
I feel distance Fall, fallforward, fall toward me.
Your prayers seem to gounanswered.
(24:19):
Keep asking Persistence.
Prayer is not just about faithin the moment, but it's about
faith over time.
It's about faith when you feellike it and it's about faith
when you don't feel like it.
And in these seasons ofspiritual dryness or uncertainty
, we learn to trust God'scharacter rather than our
(24:39):
feelings.
When God feels distance and Iknow that's a deep pain I'm not
trying to make light of that,but it does ask the question.
It begs us to ask the questiondo I trust more in the God I
believe in or do I trust in howI feel right now, in this moment
?
Prayer in these times is notabout forcing an answer, but
(25:00):
really it's about showing up andit's about believing that God
is present, even if you don'tfeel him.
The knocking Jesus describes isthe rhythm of faith that keeps
going even when the door doesn'topen up right away.
It's the kind of persistencethat builds a deeper reliance on
God and shapes us to trust hisgoodness and his timing, both of
(25:23):
which are perfect.
This teaching invites us toexamine our own approach to
prayer.
Do you give up too easily whenthe answer doesn't happen right
away how you wanted it to happen, exactly how you wanted it to
happen when you wanted it tohappen?
Or do you trust the God whoencourages, asking, seeking and
knocking with confidence?
(25:44):
How does that play out in yourown life?
So the challenge today is thatdiscipleship isn't just
believing.
It's about living a life shapedby both all compassion,
presence and prayer.
This call to follow Jesus, aswe've read today in these
passages in Luke, calls totransform not only how we think,
but how we live, and so I wantto leave you with three specific
(26:07):
challenges this week, things toconsider in your own life.
The first one is do youpractice compassion beyond
comfort?
A little bit of a tension hereif you think about it.
Am I going to be compassionate,even when it makes me
uncomfortable?
That's the first question.
Jesus shows us that love doesrequire action.
You don't just get to say Ilove you, thoughts and prayers.
It does require you backing itup with what you do and how you
(26:30):
live, even when it's convenient.
The Samaritan didn't just passthe guy on the road and say, man
, that looks like it sucks.
He stepped in to help even wheneveryone else ignored the man
on the road.
So this week, for some of you,perhaps the challenge is to
identify a person that you haveoverlooked, a person perhaps
(26:52):
you're avoiding.
How can you extend love in atangible way?
And maybe it's reaching out toa neighbor who you know is in
need, volunteering your time orsimply offering someone a
listening ear who is struggling,and just letting them vent to
you.
Compassion calls us out of ourcomfort zones, but it's there
that God's love shines thebrightest.
And a note, as I always do whenI talk about reaching out to
(27:16):
people if you or someone youlove is in an abusive or toxic
relationship, I am not at allsuggesting you reach out to that
person this week.
Okay, I just want to clear thatup.
Some things need to be severed,but other things there might be
a person in our life who I'mavoiding just because I find
them obnoxious.
Perhaps I'm the only one in theroom who finds other people
(27:36):
annoying, but I doubt it.
Maybe that's the person.
So the second thing to consideris are we creating space for
Christ's presence in our lives?
In our busy lives, it's easy toprioritize that productivity
over presence.
But true discipleship requirestime, intentional time with
Jesus.
So for some of you, maybe thisweek, what you need to do is
(27:57):
carve out intentional time to bewith Jesus, maybe like 10 or 15
uninterrupted minutes to sitthere and to just knock and to
seek minutes.
To sit there and to just knockand to seek Jesus.
Where are you leading me, jesus?
What do you want, jesus?
(28:17):
I want this so bad.
I want the peanut buttersandwich.
It's a great time to askyourself is my schedule aligned
with what I say matters most?
I'm a firm believer that thetwo most important documents in
most of our lives are ourbudgets and our schedules.
When we reevaluate that dude,is my budget serving me?
We look at that dude, the waythat I spend money is this how I
want to spend money, but youknow what.
Another resource you have isyour time, and that's what I
(28:39):
want to talk about is your time.
And when you look at yourschedule, print it out, throw it
on the fridge and look at it,analyze it.
Where are you spending all ofyour time?
Is it, netflix and napping andare you okay with that?
That's the question.
I'm not judging you or lookingdown on you or anything, but are
you okay with that?
And as you look at yourcalendar and you're like I have
all my important meetings set upthere, do you have like time
(29:02):
with God set up in there?
And you might say that'sridiculous, but it's not.
You see, I have important datesin my calendar because they're
important, because I don't wantto forget.
I don't even want the chance toforget.
Do I need to be reminded?
My anniversary is coming up?
No, most times, but in that oneyear that maybe I do, it is in
(29:25):
there.
And so when you look at yourcalendar, say, is there time,
have I plugged in time to readthe Bible, to pray, to meditate,
to do something like this?
And finally, the third thingfor some of us, we need to
deepen our commitment to prayer.
We need to deepen it to prayer.
Prayer isn't just a ritual.
Prayer is about a relationship.
(29:46):
That's what Jesus is getting at.
It's not just a ritual.
Prayer is about a relationship.
That's what Jesus is getting at.
It's not just a ritual, it's arelationship.
So pray daily.
You can use the Lord's Prayer asa guide.
Just don't become legalisticabout it, okay.
I don't want to hear you inlike three years being like the
only time I pray is when I praythe Lord's Prayer, because you
missed the point.
Then I want you to develop arelationship with God, and if
you've got to use the Lord'sprayer as a launching pad,
that's way okay.
That's what the disciples wouldhave done, but I want you to
(30:08):
focus praising God.
Confess your needs to him,trust in his provision, write
your prayers down.
I have a five-year journal andit's just a little blurb every
day.
So it'd be like the 17th andthere'll be five years worth and
I just write down a few thingsevery day.
But what's amazing is I've beendoing this now for like seven
years, because I don't do itevery day, so there's still a
lot of spaces left.
(30:28):
But what's amazing is I can lookback and say, wow, in 2017,
look what I was praying for andit happened, but not at all like
I thought it was going tohappen, and it's so encouraging.
And so for some of you who arelike you've been a Christian a
long time and you're wonderinghow does God answer prayers I
have found this to be soselfishly like a blessing
(30:49):
because it's the reminder.
I look at my own words that Iwrote in my own journal from
years ago and say, wow, godreally did answer that and I
forgot about it, like I didn'teven realize he answered it.
Or I look at something and I'mlike thank you, jesus, for not
answering that, because thatwould have been awful.
I look back at some things thatI prayed for that did happen
and I'm upset about it.
(31:09):
So you get the full spectrum offeelings and emotions.
But, as I wrap up, if you wantto close your eyes for a moment,
that's okay, because I want youto envision something.
Envision a church, community,madison Church, where acts of
love and kindness are sofrequent and genuine that they
point unmistakably to God'spresence among us.
(31:31):
Picture families, neighbors andstrangers being drawn into the
love of Christ because of theway you choose to live.
The beauty of discipleship isthat it's not just about what we
give, but it is about what wereceive.
When we step out to love others, we experience the joy of
partnering with Christ and hiswork.
When we prioritize time in hispresence, we find peace, clarity
(31:57):
and strength to navigate life'sdemands.
And when we commit topersistent prayer we develop a
deep trust in the God whodoesn't just listen but responds
.
And now imagine the rippleeffect if every single person in
this room took just one stepthis week.
Small actions like helping aneighbor, offering a kind word,
(32:19):
taking the time to pray, willinspire others to do the same.
These simple acts of love andfaith have a way of spreading
outward, creating a chainreaction that brings hope and
healing to our families, to ourcommunities and really to the
rest of the world.
And together you by yourselfknow, but together these steps
(32:41):
will transform our world into areflection of God's kingdom.
And so this week, what is yourstep?
Discipleship is about movement.
It's about activity.
Is it a compassionate act, anintentional moment with Jesus or
a renewed commitment to prayer?
Whatever it is for you andmaybe it's not any of those, but
(33:03):
maybe there's something elsethat you really feel like God
has been putting on your heartthis past hour let's do it
Together.
We can embody discipleship, notjust believing in Christ, but
living a life shaped by Christ,shaped by compassion, presence
and prayer.
Welcome to our Madison Church Online audience.
I'm Stephen Feith, lead pastorhere.
We want to invite you to joinus sometime soon in person,
because Madison Church really isa community.
It's not just about the contentcreation that we do, but really
is about connecting people withGod and each other, which is
quite difficult when you'rewatching on YouTube or listening
on podcasts.
And we're all here in the roomToday we're continuing what's
(00:23):
going to be a very, very longseries taking us all the way to
Easter, and it's called A Lifethat Matters.
And if you're joining us for thefirst time or you're joining us
for the first time in a longtime, we have been going through
Luke's gospel on and off forover a year now and I was
thinking about this when I wasdriving in.
I was like I should explain topeople why we do this, because
(00:44):
maybe if you've been lookingaround at churches or you've
gone to other churches, you knowthat sometimes they do series
by topics and it'll be like howcan a good God allow pain and
suffering?
And we do that here from timeto time.
Other times you do one on atopic like how can I hear from
God, and we actually did one ofthose last fall, but for the
majority of the time at MadisonChurch we're going to go kind of
(01:04):
verse by verse through entirebooks of the Bible.
I personally kind of feel likethat's a lost art in our society
.
I liken it to, if you canremember a long time ago, dvds
and you'd put the DVD on and youcould skip to the chapter you
wanted.
But if you were watching aBatman movie or a Superman movie
and you skipped to chapterseven and then you stopped, and
(01:25):
the next day you watched chaptereight and you stopped, and then
you never went back to it again, you wouldn't really know the
story of what happened.
And so I found it hugelyimpactful in my own spiritual
journey to go word by word andverse by verse and chapter by
chapter to see what is theauthor, whoever wrote this
originally, what were theytrying to communicate in the
(01:45):
entirety of their story.
And because I know that it isdifficult from where you're
sitting and where I'm standingand when I write, it'd be
difficult to do a straight shotbecause we'd be in Luke every
Sunday for two years, and so wedo break it up.
That is how we've been in thisseries for over a year and a
half.
But in this particular portionof Luke we're talking about
(02:09):
discipleship, because that'swhat Luke is writing about.
If we're going on an arc hereof Luke's story, we have Jesus
being born, the Christmasnarrative, the prediction that
Jesus was going to be here, andwe see Jesus prepped for
ministry, baptized by the HolySpirit, sent out and tested, and
then we see Jesus going allaround the Sea of Galilee doing
these miracles.
(02:29):
And what Luke has beenintentionally trying to show you
is that he was prophesied, hewas empowered and he's doing all
of those things.
And now Luke is transitioningas we're heading into Jerusalem
with Jesus and we know Jesus isgoing to die.
And where Luke is beginning totransition is discipleship.
Luke feels like he's alreadymade the case for Jesus's
(02:51):
Messiahship.
Jesus is who we claimed he was.
So what?
What does that mean for you andme today?
And what Luke is arguing isdiscipleship is not about head
knowledge or adherence toreligious rules.
I think oftentimes that's whatwe think discipleship is.
When we think of discipleship,we think who has gone to
(03:11):
seminary, who has the master'sdegree in theology, who is the
pastor, who are they certifiedwith and ordained?
And those are good things.
Those are not bad things, butwe're not different classes.
You and I were both disciplesof Jesus at the end of the day.
You and me, we're bothfollowing him, a lot of us doing
(03:32):
it to the best of our abilityand myself, just like you,
coming up short a lot.
What Luke wants us to see isthat discipleship is about a
transformed life, one shaped bylove, relationship and prayer,
and this is why, for some of youwho are kind of older or more
mature Christians, thatsometimes it feels like there's
(03:53):
a little bit of a disconnectwith God because transformation
starts to slow down, because thethings being transformed are
deep in here.
So when you first find andfollow Jesus, it's easy to say
this changed or that changed andthis improved and that improved
because there's a lot oflow-hanging fruit and as we
follow Jesus, he's revealingthings to us that we didn't know
(04:17):
were in here.
He's bringing that out of us,and so that is what discipleship
is, and today we're gonna covera whole out of us, and so that
is what discipleship is, andtoday we're going to cover a
whole bunch of stories.
We're going to cover four bigones that can be entire messages
on their own.
They really can be, as a matterof fact, one of the verses I'm
going to read today.
We did like a nine-part serieson it two years ago and I'll
(04:39):
mention that a little bit later.
But today I'm tying all ofthese stories together because I
want you to see, discipleshipisn't just me and Jesus, it's
not just my verticalrelationship with God.
What Luke is going to show youis that discipleship has a very
horizontal angle to it as well,and it's your relationship with
your neighbors, and who is yourneighbor?
(05:00):
It's your relationship withJesus, certainly, and it's also
our relationship with Godthrough prayer.
All of these things are vitalaspects to discipleship.
They're interconnectedrealities at the heart of what
it means to follow Christ.
And so, as we go through today,a couple questions maybe to
just throw out there for you tothink about.
(05:20):
How are you living out yourlove for others?
How do you living out your lovefor others?
How do you live out your lovefor others?
That's a discipleship question.
Are you prioritizing Jesus inthe midst of life's busyness?
Who here is busy?
Right, all of us.
Okay, are we prioritizing?
(05:41):
Do we say in the midst of mybusyness?
Do I still prioritize myrelationship, my discipleship
journey?
Do we approach God in prayerwith confidence and the
persistence that Jesusencourages us to, and so we're
going to Luke, chapter 10.
That's where we left off lastweek.
If you want to follow along, wehave house Bibles.
The words will be on the screenand as we dive into the text,
(06:02):
we're going to find Jesus at thecenter.
This first story is at thecenter of a challenging
conversation, as a religious lawexpert has come up to him and
asked him a question.
It's not really a question tolearn.
He's actually asking thisquestion to stump Jesus.
So, like I said, jesus isalready going around the Sea of
Galilee, he already has thisreputation, and so one of the
(06:25):
religious leaders says I'm goingto stump Jesus.
It's a question that I think isat the core of discipleship for
all of us, and he asked whatdoes it mean to like, truly mean
to inherit eternal life,teacher?
What should I do to inheriteternal life?
That's kind of maybe some ofthe questions that we have today
, like what do I need to do togo to heaven?
Or some of us ask it like Idon't want to go to hell, and so
(06:47):
what do I got to do to avoidthat?
You know, and that's thequestion.
Jesus asks a very kind of likepastoral professor type way, he
responds he says what does thelaw of Moses say and how do you
read it?
So two questions.
He says what's written in theOld Testament, because you're
the expert, and how do youinterpret it?
(07:08):
So Jesus is acknowledgingthere's going to be two things
working here.
There's going to be what youread and how you understand it,
and the man would not have beensurprised by that.
This is how rabbis would haveanswered those questions.
And the man asked he says well,you must love the Lord, your
God, with all your heart, allyour soul, all your strength and
all your mind, and love yourneighbor as yourself.
(07:28):
So this is what it's writtenand what the man is implying is
that if I do this this is how Iunderstand it I will get eternal
life.
And Jesus says right, do thisand you will live.
Now, here's the thing about this.
I didn't realize this untilthis week as I was studying for
this passage.
There is a Jewish book that'snot in our Old Testament, it's
(07:50):
in the Apocrypha, if you have aCatholic background.
But basically there's a commandin there that says to the
Israelites, the people of God,you should help one another out
other Israelites and only theones who follow God, because if
you help a sinner you'rebringing shame on yourself.
(08:10):
So the expert in religious lawagain, this isn't in our Bible,
but this is in the kind of theApocrypha, these extra texts
that don't make it in, butthey're saying hey, love other
Levite priests, love otherJewish people who are serving
God.
Well, what about my enemy?
No, don't do that.
And so then Jesus goes into thestory which we're all familiar
(08:33):
with the Good Samaritan.
And again, I could teach anentire message on this, but
we're just going to fly over it.
But he says you know, there's aman, he's on the road, he's
left for dead.
And he's left for dead, jewishleader goes by, priest goes by,
no one helps him.
And then all of a sudden thisno good Samaritan walks by.
And you got to think like themost blatant forms of racism
here, the most blatant, theythought Samaritans, the Jewish
(08:54):
people did, were half breeds,that was the language they used
half breed, not fully human.
You think back on Americanhistory, right, and think of
some of that language.
Three fifths of a person, thisis the language they're using.
Of some of that language,three-fifths of a person.
This is the language they'reusing.
And Jesus uses this languageand he says the Samaritan comes
by and helps him.
It doesn't just like pat him onthe back, doesn't offer
thoughts and prayers, but takeshim to the inn, pays for
(09:15):
everything.
And not only that, he opens atab and says hey, do whatever
you need to do to make sure thisguy's taken care of, not just
going to come in at theintervent like right away, oh,
there's a crisis, we'll send theteam out real quick and then
leave.
The Samaritan says I'm going tomake sure that, you know,
everything is taken care of frombeginning to end.
(09:37):
Says that the Samaritan camealong and he felt compassion for
him.
And Jesus says who was theneighbor to this man?
And Jesus says who is theneighbor to this man?
Well, this Jewish guy, thisexpert of religious law, hates
the Samaritan so much.
You have to read this in yourown Bible, I don't have it up on
the screen.
He can't even call him aSamaritan.
(09:58):
That's how much he hates thisguy.
He can't even say the Samaritan.
He says well, there's you know,obviously, that last person who
kind of came in and helped.
That's how big the hatred was.
And Jesus is trying to show.
This is what the law requiresof you.
And if you think about it, inthe story he's saying who is the
(10:18):
neighbor?
He's highlighting the goodnessof the Samaritan.
The Samaritan is the neighbor,and so what you need to catch is
what Jesus is saying to thisexpert of religious law be like
the Samaritan in my story, whichwould have been just utterly
offensive.
They would have written Jesusoff altogether.
But that's what Jesus says weare to do.
And today, no doubt in ourworld, we still live in a very
(10:43):
diverse society plagued withdiscrimination.
We still do to this day whetherthat's racial discrimination.
In a very diverse societyplagued with discrimination.
We still do to this day Whetherthat's racial discrimination.
But we also have economicissues, we have political
differences, there are differentcultural barriers and these
things kind of define for us whoour neighbor is.
And probably the most difficultthing that I'm going to tell you
(11:05):
this entire year if it doesn'tseem difficult, you're not
thinking about it hard enoughthe most difficult thing I'm
going to ask you is that youknow, discipleship demands love
that transcends those boundariesPolitical.
So you've got to love the.
Make America great again people.
Make America great again,people.
(11:29):
You got to love the otherpeople who voted for Kamala or
Bernie.
You even got to love the peoplewho are so, like, devastated
about the political climate inthe United States.
They don't vote for anybody.
You're like that's hard, Ican't do that.
They're so hateful Like theyright or they're so stupid or
whatever your brand of narrationis for your enemy.
(11:50):
And Jesus says in the storythat's the neighbor If they do.
You know these things.
And so he calls us to do that.
To those who hate us, jesuscalls us to love them.
That's exceptionally difficult.
We could leave right now today,not talk about anything else for
(12:12):
the rest of the year, just keepcoming back to this moment
every week for the next year,and I bet by the end of it we're
still going to say we're reallystruggling with this.
But the thing is, is Christlike love is not passive?
Christ like love is active.
It's active and it's modeled bythe Samaritan's compassion and
it's active toward those weconsider outsiders.
Jesus is going to say a littlebit later on that like, okay,
(12:33):
you love your enemies or youlove your friends, those who do
good, but who cares Likeeveryone does, that Everyone has
this little basic inclination.
You're going to help those whohelp you.
But what sets us apart asfollowers of Jesus?
Not just if we love, but howwell we love those who aren't in
this space.
Here we're going to go down toverse 41.
(12:56):
We're coming up to the scene ofthe two sisters, mary and Martha
.
It is a scene many of us canrelate to.
You're going to relate to onecharacter most likely in this
story, but Jesus uses anordinary situation to teach an
extraordinary truth aboutdiscipleship.
So Martha is in the kitchen,she's working this is what she
would have been expected to doas a woman at this time and her
(13:17):
sister, mary, is just chillingwith Jesus in the other room.
For those of you who have hadto prepare Christmas dinners and
Thanksgiving feasts and youknow what it's like to be in the
kitchen and you're doing amillion things.
And in the other room you hearpeople like laughing and they're
not helping, they're justwaiting for you to work.
You can imagine Martha is justanger Like I'm doing all of this
work and you slackers in there.
(13:38):
I mean she wouldn't have calledJesus that.
But you can imagine she'spissed off at her sister and
Jesus says to her my dear Martha, you are worried and upset over
all these details.
There's only one thing worthbeing concerned about, and Mary
has discovered it, and it willnot be taken away from her.
So, yes, women in the firstcentury there were expected to
(14:00):
manage the householdresponsibilities, and they,
furthermore, they definitelyshould not have been sitting at
the feet of a rabbi as adisciple.
That was a spot reserved forother men.
But Mary breaks cultural norms.
She finds herself at the feetof Jesus and it shows us that
discipleship is for everyone,not just men, not just women,
(14:21):
not just Jew Gentile, it's forall of us.
And Jesus doesn't just allowMary to sit and listen.
He doesn't just say it's okay,he affirms her decision.
He affirms it by elevatingpresence with him above the
busyness of service.
He says Mary's here and she'sjust enjoying my presence.
Leave her be Now.
(14:41):
That's not a rebuke thatMartha's hospitality and she's
working, I mean Now, that's nota rebuke that Martha's
hospitality and she's working.
I mean.
Service is a vital aspect to ourfaith.
This is a spiritual discipline.
We are to serve one another.
But Martha's distraction andfrustration revealed the danger
(15:02):
of letting our activity, ourgood deeds, overshadow our
connection with Christ.
Yes, what she was doing waswell-meaning.
It was well-meaning work, butit became a barrier to deeper
understanding what was right infront of her, which was Jesus
himself.
And I think that this reveals astruggle that you and I in the
United States Western context2025, feel a lot, and it's the
(15:25):
difference between doing andbeing, and I think that all of
us fall into one or two campsand we feel pressure by the
other one.
Okay, if we're doers, we feelpressure to do a little less,
and if we're beers, we feelpressure, we got to do something
.
And that's okay, becausediscipleship requires an
intentional rhythm, a holy ebband flow.
(15:48):
There's rest and there's work,and there's rest and there's
work, there's presence and thenthere's productivity.
And just as your body needsactivity like exercise or
intellectually to read a book,it also needs rest to recover
and to thrive.
It also needs rest to recoverand to thrive.
(16:08):
So is for our spiritual livesto flourish, we have to have
that ebb and flow of rest andwork, and without this rhythm,
you will experience, without adoubt, burnout, distraction or
even missing the presence of Godin your life.
What makes it socounter-cultural is that you are
praised, not just praised.
(16:29):
You are rewarded forproductivity, you get the raise
and the promotion, you get moremoney.
You can buy the new boat, thenewer house, you can buy the
newer car If you are moreproductive than the other person
, and if you're not productive,you lose your job.
It's punishment, and soeverything in our society says
go, go, go, go, go, sacrificeeverything.
But here Jesus reminds usthat's not his ask of you as a
(16:54):
disciple.
He's not asking you to go, go,go, go go.
He's not going to punish you ifyou take a break.
He wants you to be with him andto sit at his feet.
Our work must flow out of aheart grounded in Christ.
Otherwise you'll just feeloverwhelmed with all of the
(17:14):
things you need to do for Christ, and that's not what he's
asking of you.
We continue reading and we getdown to one of the most intimate
and instructive moments ofJesus's ministry, when he
teaches his disciples how topray.
And, as I mentioned, as we weregetting going, we did an entire
like seven, eight, nine.
I can't remember how many partswe did, but it was a seven,
eight, nine part series on thispassage.
(17:35):
It was called how to Pray, andso you can find that on our
YouTube channel BuzzsproutPodcast is the word I'm looking
for.
But in the passage where Jesusteaches them how to pray, he
says this is how you should pray.
Father, may your name be keptholy.
May your kingdom come soon.
Give us each day the food weneed and forgive us our sins, as
we forgive those who sinagainst us, and don't let us
(17:57):
yield to temptation.
And the reason I'm talkingabout this just very briefly
today is that his disciples cometo him and they say hey, we've
been taught all of these otherways to pray, there's all of
these different ways to pray.
If you grew up again going backto this kind of idea, if you
grew up with a Catholicbackground like there are
certain prayers you're supposedto say at certain times and you
say these things back and yourecite them and it's liturgy and
(18:18):
so what, that's been happeningfor 2000 years.
It was happening to the Jewishfollowers of.
I say we've seen all of thesedifferent ways to pray.
We're wondering Jesus, what isthe right way to pray?
Because what they noticed waslike you know, when Jesus prays,
like people come back from thedead, they're like healed of
leprosy, people like walk onwater.
You know, it's like completelya different experience when
Jesus prays.
And so they're asking, likewhat is the secret?
(18:41):
And what Jesus tells them isyou can pray like this, but he's
not providing a model to bememorized later.
I think that's the worst use ofthe Lord's Prayer, like his
whole thing in doing this was toshow them there is no model
that you come to the Fatherintimately, call him Dad, hey
Dad, and come and say your needs.
I've been reading this book byRichard Foster, celebration of
(19:03):
Discipline, and there's thisimage that pops out and it's so
good because I've got three kidsand they're nine, seven and
three, and they ask foreverything shamelessly
Shamelessly Money, food, drinks,more screen time.
They just shamelessly everytime they ask, and it's like
(19:26):
they don't consider that, likesomebody goes out and buys the
bread and the peanut butter forthose peanut butter sandwiches.
They have no concept that likewe could run out, they just
always assume we're stocked.
And Foster says do we approachGod with that same audacity?
Do you approach God likethere's an unlimited source of
(19:47):
sandwiches in the pantry?
Unashamed, not guilty, boldly?
The nice thing is is I won'trespond to you like I respond to
my kids, because God is a lotbetter at that than I am.
But I'll be like, oh my gosh.
Yes, in a minute I'll get youthe sandwich.
How can you be hungry?
You've been eating goldfishover there all day, you know.
(20:08):
But, god, it says that this ishow I want you to approach me.
Approach me with a childlikefaith.
What do you need?
Have you thought about that anddo you keep asking God?
God, this is what I need, not amemorized prayer, not liturgy.
Do you come to him like a kid?
(20:29):
Honestly, authentically.
Prayer not only connects us toGod, but it binds us together as
his people.
What we see in that passage isa lot of our language and us
language.
Jesus is showing that prayerisn't just an individual
activity.
I know a lot of us see it likethat.
We pray at night, or we pray inthe morning, or we journal.
When Jesus teaches hisdisciples how to pray, he prays,
(20:53):
tells them to pray together.
And so my ask then for you islike where does that show up in
your life?
Perhaps a small group, perhapswith a spouse or your family,
but we pray together.
And if you think that there'ssomething wrong with this whole
idea, like what if I kept askingfor the sandwich, I kept asking
for this thing from God?
Don't I come across as likenagging, and doesn't God get
(21:15):
tired of that?
Jesus puts that to rest Luke 11, verse nine.
So I tell you, keep on askingand you will receive what you
ask for.
Keep on seeking and you willfind.
Keep on knocking and the doorwill be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receivesand everyone who seeks finds.
(21:36):
And to everyone who knocks thedoor will be opened.
And these words would haveresonated very deeply with that
original audience that Jesus isspeaking to.
They understood persistence inprayer and this was a virtue.
And yet Jesus adds the boldassurance, just in case you were
(21:56):
wondering it's okay, keepasking.
It's okay, it's all right, thatthing you've been asking for,
that your heart desires.
It's okay to keep asking, evenif the answer is no.
Keep asking, because whathappens in prayer?
We become more Christ-like.
What happens in prayer,regardless of what we're praying
(22:18):
for, we're in communion withGod.
He wants us to pray and we'rein communion.
Maybe we're asking for the wrongthings, but how will we know
unless we ask?
How will my kids ever knowthere's more than just peanut
butter and jelly in the fridgeor in the cabinets if they don't
ask for something else?
So you ask and you seek and youknock and maybe it's not the
thing that you originally wereseeking, the door you were
(22:40):
originally knocking on andperhaps through that the Spirit
of God leads you to this placewhere the door does open.
And you look back and it'slow-hanging fruit to say this,
but I got to say it, like once ayear.
But you know, it's like howmany of you, like in junior high
or in kindergarten like prayedfor that, like girlfriend or
boyfriend, you're like, oh God,I want to marry them.
They're so perfect.
No-transcript, I mean not thatthat happens in kindergarten,
(23:12):
but you know what I'm like?
Ah, devastating.
And now we have devastatingproblems as adults.
And God says keep asking, don'tgive up, I'm going to take you
where I want you to go.
What about those seasons wherepersistence feels impossible?
You've been asking and askingand asking for years.
(23:37):
There's something.
There's years I've got stufflike that, things I've been
asking for years.
God, should I keep asking orshould I just give up?
Should I move on?
Why am I not getting the lessonI'm supposed to get?
This is when doubts creep in,when God feels distance, when
prayers seem to go unanswered.
This teaching from Jesus doesnot deny those moments.
(23:58):
He's not trying to gaslight youor toxic positivity you or
anything like that.
It doesn't deny those moments,but instead what Jesus is doing
is inviting you to lean into himharder.
You got doubts, great, bringthem to me.
I feel distance Fall, fallforward, fall toward me.
Your prayers seem to gounanswered.
(24:19):
Keep asking Persistence.
Prayer is not just about faithin the moment, but it's about
faith over time.
It's about faith when you feellike it and it's about faith
when you don't feel like it.
And in these seasons ofspiritual dryness or uncertainty
, we learn to trust God'scharacter rather than our
(24:39):
feelings.
When God feels distance and Iknow that's a deep pain I'm not
trying to make light of that,but it does ask the question.
It begs us to ask the questiondo I trust more in the God I
believe in or do I trust in howI feel right now, in this moment
?
Prayer in these times is notabout forcing an answer, but
(25:00):
really it's about showing up andit's about believing that God
is present, even if you don'tfeel him.
The knocking Jesus describes isthe rhythm of faith that keeps
going even when the door doesn'topen up right away.
It's the kind of persistencethat builds a deeper reliance on
God and shapes us to trust hisgoodness and his timing, both of
(25:23):
which are perfect.
This teaching invites us toexamine our own approach to
prayer.
Do you give up too easily whenthe answer doesn't happen right
away how you wanted it to happen, exactly how you wanted it to
happen when you wanted it tohappen?
Or do you trust the God whoencourages, asking, seeking and
knocking with confidence?
(25:44):
How does that play out in yourown life?
So the challenge today is thatdiscipleship isn't just
believing.
It's about living a life shapedby both all compassion,
presence and prayer.
This call to follow Jesus, aswe've read today in these
passages in Luke, calls totransform not only how we think,
but how we live, and so I wantto leave you with three specific
(26:07):
challenges this week, things toconsider in your own life.
The first one is do youpractice compassion beyond
comfort?
A little bit of a tension hereif you think about it.
Am I going to be compassionate,even when it makes me
uncomfortable?
That's the first question.
Jesus shows us that love doesrequire action.
You don't just get to say Ilove you, thoughts and prayers.
It does require you backing itup with what you do and how you
(26:30):
live, even when it's convenient.
The Samaritan didn't just passthe guy on the road and say, man
, that looks like it sucks.
He stepped in to help even wheneveryone else ignored the man
on the road.
So this week, for some of you,perhaps the challenge is to
identify a person that you haveoverlooked, a person perhaps
(26:52):
you're avoiding.
How can you extend love in atangible way?
And maybe it's reaching out toa neighbor who you know is in
need, volunteering your time orsimply offering someone a
listening ear who is struggling,and just letting them vent to
you.
Compassion calls us out of ourcomfort zones, but it's there
that God's love shines thebrightest.
And a note, as I always do whenI talk about reaching out to
(27:16):
people if you or someone youlove is in an abusive or toxic
relationship, I am not at allsuggesting you reach out to that
person this week.
Okay, I just want to clear thatup.
Some things need to be severed,but other things there might be
a person in our life who I'mavoiding just because I find
them obnoxious.
Perhaps I'm the only one in theroom who finds other people
(27:36):
annoying, but I doubt it.
Maybe that's the person.
So the second thing to consideris are we creating space for
Christ's presence in our lives?
In our busy lives, it's easy toprioritize that productivity
over presence.
But true discipleship requirestime, intentional time with
Jesus.
So for some of you, maybe thisweek, what you need to do is
(27:57):
carve out intentional time to bewith Jesus, maybe like 10 or 15
uninterrupted minutes to sitthere and to just knock and to
seek minutes.
To sit there and to just knockand to seek Jesus.
Where are you leading me, jesus?
What do you want, jesus?
(28:17):
I want this so bad.
I want the peanut buttersandwich.
It's a great time to askyourself is my schedule aligned
with what I say matters most?
I'm a firm believer that thetwo most important documents in
most of our lives are ourbudgets and our schedules.
When we reevaluate that dude,is my budget serving me?
We look at that dude, the waythat I spend money is this how I
want to spend money, but youknow what.
Another resource you have isyour time, and that's what I
(28:39):
want to talk about is your time.
And when you look at yourschedule, print it out, throw it
on the fridge and look at it,analyze it.
Where are you spending all ofyour time?
Is it, netflix and napping andare you okay with that?
That's the question.
I'm not judging you or lookingdown on you or anything, but are
you okay with that?
And as you look at yourcalendar and you're like I have
all my important meetings set upthere, do you have like time
(29:02):
with God set up in there?
And you might say that'sridiculous, but it's not.
You see, I have important datesin my calendar because they're
important, because I don't wantto forget.
I don't even want the chance toforget.
Do I need to be reminded?
My anniversary is coming up?
No, most times, but in that oneyear that maybe I do, it is in
(29:25):
there.
And so when you look at yourcalendar, say, is there time,
have I plugged in time to readthe Bible, to pray, to meditate,
to do something like this?
And finally, the third thingfor some of us, we need to
deepen our commitment to prayer.
We need to deepen it to prayer.
Prayer isn't just a ritual.
Prayer is about a relationship.
(29:46):
That's what Jesus is getting at.
It's not just a ritual.
Prayer is about a relationship.
That's what Jesus is getting at.
It's not just a ritual, it's arelationship.
So pray daily.
You can use the Lord's Prayer asa guide.
Just don't become legalisticabout it, okay.
I don't want to hear you inlike three years being like the
only time I pray is when I praythe Lord's Prayer, because you
missed the point.
Then I want you to develop arelationship with God, and if
you've got to use the Lord'sprayer as a launching pad,
that's way okay.
That's what the disciples wouldhave done, but I want you to
(30:08):
focus praising God.
Confess your needs to him,trust in his provision, write
your prayers down.
I have a five-year journal andit's just a little blurb every
day.
So it'd be like the 17th andthere'll be five years worth and
I just write down a few thingsevery day.
But what's amazing is I've beendoing this now for like seven
years, because I don't do itevery day, so there's still a
lot of spaces left.
(30:28):
But what's amazing is I can lookback and say, wow, in 2017,
look what I was praying for andit happened, but not at all like
I thought it was going tohappen, and it's so encouraging.
And so for some of you who arelike you've been a Christian a
long time and you're wonderinghow does God answer prayers I
have found this to be soselfishly like a blessing
(30:49):
because it's the reminder.
I look at my own words that Iwrote in my own journal from
years ago and say, wow, godreally did answer that and I
forgot about it, like I didn'teven realize he answered it.
Or I look at something and I'mlike thank you, jesus, for not
answering that, because thatwould have been awful.
I look back at some things thatI prayed for that did happen
and I'm upset about it.
(31:09):
So you get the full spectrum offeelings and emotions.
But, as I wrap up, if you wantto close your eyes for a moment,
that's okay, because I want youto envision something.
Envision a church, community,madison Church, where acts of
love and kindness are sofrequent and genuine that they
point unmistakably to God'spresence among us.
(31:31):
Picture families, neighbors andstrangers being drawn into the
love of Christ because of theway you choose to live.
The beauty of discipleship isthat it's not just about what we
give, but it is about what wereceive.
When we step out to love others, we experience the joy of
partnering with Christ and hiswork.
When we prioritize time in hispresence, we find peace, clarity
(31:57):
and strength to navigate life'sdemands.
And when we commit topersistent prayer we develop a
deep trust in the God whodoesn't just listen but responds
.
And now imagine the rippleeffect if every single person in
this room took just one stepthis week.
Small actions like helping aneighbor, offering a kind word,
(32:19):
taking the time to pray, willinspire others to do the same.
These simple acts of love andfaith have a way of spreading
outward, creating a chainreaction that brings hope and
healing to our families, to ourcommunities and really to the
rest of the world.
And together you by yourselfknow, but together these steps
(32:41):
will transform our world into areflection of God's kingdom.
And so this week, what is yourstep?
Discipleship is about movement.
It's about activity.
Is it a compassionate act, anintentional moment with Jesus or
a renewed commitment to prayer?
Whatever it is for you andmaybe it's not any of those, but
(33:03):
maybe there's something elsethat you really feel like God
has been putting on your heartthis past hour let's do it
Together.
We can embody discipleship, notjust believing in Christ, but
living a life shaped by Christ,shaped by compassion, presence
and prayer.
Popular Podcasts
Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club
Welcome to Bookmarked by Reese’s Book Club — the podcast where great stories, bold women, and irresistible conversations collide! Hosted by award-winning journalist Danielle Robay, each week new episodes balance thoughtful literary insight with the fervor of buzzy book trends, pop culture and more. Bookmarked brings together celebrities, tastemakers, influencers and authors from Reese's Book Club and beyond to share stories that transcend the page. Pull up a chair. You’re not just listening — you’re part of the conversation.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com