The sermon discusses the challenge of discipleship based on a passage from 1 Thessalonians. It argues that Christianity is both a demanding and serious religion. To be a disciple requires total commitment, holiness, and faithfulness. It also means not being ashamed to openly follow Jesus, even in the face of criticism or persecution. The preacher urges Christians to embrace God's call to sanctification and meet the challenge of discipleship throughout their lives.

1. Adapted from a David Baeder sermon
https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/5-the-challenge-of-
discipleship-david-baeder-sermon-on-discipleship-
156860?ref=SermonSeriesDetails

2. 1 Thessalonians 4:1 ESV Finally, then,
brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord
Jesus, that as you received from us how you
ought to walk and to please God, just as you
are doing, that you do so more and more. 2
For you know what instructions we gave you
through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of
God, your sanctification: that you abstain from
sexual immorality;

3. 4 that each one of you know how to control his
own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the
passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not
know God; 6 that no one transgress and wrong
his brother in this matter, because the Lord is
an avenger in all these things, as we told you
beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For
God has not called us for impurity, but in
holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this,
disregards not man but God, who gives his
Holy Spirit to you.

4. In his book, “Amusing Ourselves to Death,”
Neil Postman writes, “I believe I am not
mistaken in saying that Christianity is a
demanding and serious religion.
When it is delivered as easy and amusing, it is
another kind of religion altogether.”

5. “Christianity is a demanding and serious
religion.”
To those who were weary of trying to earn their
salvation, Jesus said, “My yoke is easy and my
burden is light.”
But let us not lose sight of the fact that living
the Christian life is both demanding and
serious.

6. Sometimes people are confused by this
requirement of total commitment that is
required to be a follower of Jesus.
They wonder if this isn’t contradictory to the
truth that salvation is a free gift of God.
How can it be a free gift and yet cost us our
whole selves?
Perhaps an illustration may help to clarify this
confusion.

7. Let’s suppose I had a desire to climb Mount
Everest. (I don’t have such a desire and I think
those who do have a screw loose.) But
suppose I did desire to climb Everest. In reality
it costs about $70,000 to do it and I don’t have
that kind of money. But suppose a wealthy
businessman heard of my desire and offered to
pay for the entire expedition. He would buy all
the expensive clothing and gear; he would pay
for my transportation, the guides, and the
training.

8. Monetarily, it would be totally free for me. But if
I accept his free offer, I have just committed
myself to months or years of difficult training
and arduous effort. It could even cost me my
very life, because many good climbers die
trying to climb Mount Everest.
I Googled it & found the ratio is one death for
every 15 successful ascents.
Do you see how it is a free gift and yet it is very
costly?
(https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-70-cost-discipleship-
luke-1425-35, Steven J. Cole)

9. In many churches across this land the focus of
the assembly is not on the message, but the
media.
They may have bands playing music, or
beautiful scenes projected on the walls, all for
your enjoyment and entertainment.
Everything is planned and coordinated and
orchestrated for maximum enjoyment.

10. Now, I’m not suggesting that worship should be
bland and boring if it is to be acceptable to
God.
What I am saying is that the message we
preach and sing and pray is far more important
than the entertainment value.
Christianity is demanding and serious.

11. The four Gospels narrate the story of Jesus,
and the book of Mark characterizes Him as a
servant on an important mission.
This mission is so important that in just the first
chapter the word “immediately” appears many
times & that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
There is a sense of urgency to His work, which
is both demanding and serious.
Jesus is baptized, and:

12. Mark 1:10 ESV And when he came up out of
the water, immediately he saw the heavens
being torn open and the Spirit descending on
him like a dove.
Mark 1:12 ESV The Spirit immediately drove
him out into the wilderness.
Mark 1:18 ESV And immediately they left their
nets and followed him.

13. Mark 1:20 ESV And immediately he called
them, and they left their father Zebedee in the
boat with the hired servants and followed him.
21 And they went into Capernaum, and
immediately on the Sabbath he entered the
synagogue and was teaching. 22 And they
were astonished at his teaching, for he taught
them as one who had authority, and not as the
scribes. 23 And immediately there was in their
synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And
he cried out,

14. Mark 1:28 ESV And at once his fame spread
everywhere throughout all the surrounding
region of Galilee. 29 And immediately he left
the synagogue and entered the house of
Simon and Andrew, with James and John.
Do you get the idea things are happening
FAST!
Yes there is urgency to His work, it is both
demanding and serious.

15. Mark shows Jesus steadily moving around
from place to place fulfilling His mission. But all
this is leading up to Mark 8:27 ESV And Jesus
went on with his disciples to the villages of
Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked
his disciples,
28 And they told him, "John the Baptist; and
others say, Elijah; and others, one of the
prophets."

16. 29 And he asked them,
Peter answered him, "You are the
Christ." 30 And he strictly charged them to tell
no one about him. 31 And he began to teach
them that the Son of Man must suffer many
things and be rejected by the elders and the
chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and
after three days rise again. 32 And he said this
plainly.

17. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke
him. 33 But turning and seeing his disciples, he
rebuked Peter and said,
34
And calling the crowd to him with his disciples,
he said to them,

18. 35
36
37
38

19. The whole context of discipleship in verses 34-
38 is tied to the events that are about to unfold,
which Jesus is trying to prepare his disciples
for.
He tells them about persecution and rejection.
And when Peter says, “No way! You’re God’s
anointed one!” Jesus rebukes him as harshly
as could be done. "
."

20. Today’s sermon,
“The Challenge of Discipleship.”
It has three points.
* Be Holy.
* Be Faithful.
* Be Unashamed.

21. Mark 8:34b
Hebrews 4:15 ESV For we do not have a high
priest who is unable to sympathize with our
weaknesses, but one who in every respect has
been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

22. No other person can claim they’re sinless! We
are all sinners.
We have all been tempted.
We have all succumbed to temptation.
There are no exceptions, but Jesus.
Is it possible that we can deny ourselves, take
up our crosses and follow Jesus in absolute
holiness?
It’s impossible, yet that is our call.
That is the goal of discipleship, to be like
Jesus.

23. 1 Thessalonians 4:3a ESV For this is the will of
God, your sanctification. . .
That word, sanctification means “to be made
holy.”
That’s God’s will, for us to be made holy and to
be holy.
What is this holiness that God wants us to
become and be?

24. It is nothing less than God’s holiness.
But I’m afraid that this is beyond our
comprehension. Were we, in our present
condition, to come face to face with the
holiness of God, we would fall apart.
Isaiah 6:5 ESV And I said: "Woe is me! For I
am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I
dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of
hosts!"

25. The word of Isaiah translated lost in ESV CEV
I'm doomed! KJV I am undone, NET I am
destroyed, MSG I said, "Doom! It's Doomsday!
I'm as good as dead!
To come face to face with the holiness of God
is to be confronted with our utter failure; our
utter sinfulness.
Peter felt the same way when he realized that
he was in the presence of the holy.

26. Luke 5:8 ESV But when Simon Peter saw it, he
fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from
me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord."
To come face to face with the holiness of God
is to realize our own sinfulness. Yet we must
not only come face to face with the holiness of
God, we must embrace it. We must become it
While we fully admit that we are not holy, we
also confess that by the blood of Christ we
have been made holy and are being made
holy.

27. 1 Peter 1:14 ESV As obedient children, do not
be conformed to the passions of your former
ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy,
you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it
is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."
2 Peter 3:11 ESV Since all these things are
thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought
you to be in lives of holiness and godliness,
But the challenge of discipleship is not only
that we be holy, but that we be faithful.

28. Like in a race, it’s not how you begin, it’s how
you finish.
The challenge of discipleship is to be holy
today, the next day and the next, for as many
days as we have.
Luke’s gospel has one word that is not in the
other gospel accounts.

29. Luke 9:23 ESV And he said to all,
That little word is daily.
You see, discipleship is an everyday thing, an
every moment thing.

30. In many ways, the relationship we, as
disciples, have with Jesus, is like a marriage. It
is a commitment. It is “not to be entered into
lightly.” It should be seriously considered.
Becoming a Christian is not only about Jesus
forgiving you and saving you. It’s about you
making a commitment to follow Him wherever
He leads you. Just like in marriage, it is for
better or worse, in sickness and in health, for
richer or poorer. “Till death do us part.”

31. It’s not only a commitment, it’s a lifetime
commitment. It’s a commitment to God to be
faithful to Him.
Do you remember these words?
Hebrews 13:5b ESV . . . for he has said, “I will
never leave you nor forsake you.”
Unless we make the same pledge to God and
keep it, we have no right to the claim of
discipleship.
Jesus said that He would be with us always.
But will we be with Him always?

32. Unlike so many other things, discipleship is not
one of those things that you can try to see if
you like it.
In 1971, Alka-Seltzer had a campaign with the
slogan, “Try it, you’ll like it.”
But you can’t “try” discipleship.
The challenge of discipleship is to be faithful
throughout your life.
Like Yoda said, “Do or do not. There is no try.”

33. Revelation 2:10 ESV
The crown of life is not for those who try.
It is for those who do, and do so faithfully.

34. We all get embarrassed about something.
Public speaking is one of the things that most
people are embarrassed about. Moses &
Jeremiah had the same problem. Exodus 4:10
ESV But Moses said to the LORD, "Oh, my
Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or
since you have spoken to your servant, but I
am slow of speech and of tongue."
Jeremiah 1:6 ESV Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD!
Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am
only a youth."

35. I’m sure each of us can tell stories of how our
parents embarrassed us. Children are always
embarrassed by their parents.
It is said Billy Joel’s kids were embarrassed by
his singing sometimes.
I like to sing.
In 1982 I toured across Europe performing with
a choir.
We even did a concert, in Latin, in Notre Dame
cathedral in Paris.
Now I’m embarrassed to sing a solo.
I don’t have confidence in my abilities.

36. Listen to these words once more.
Mark 8:38 ESV

37. Do you see how demanding and serious
discipleship is? If we’re ashamed of Jesus,
He’ll be ashamed of us when He comes in
glory. And that is something I dread.
I don’t ever want to be ashamed of Jesus.
Peter, arguably the closest disciple of Jesus, in
fear and shame swore and claimed that he
didn’t know Him.
If Peter could do it, so could I.
I don’t want to, but I fear I may, and I know, in
the past, I have avoided letting people know I
am a Christian.

38. But let me say this, we have nothing to be
ashamed about. Some will say that Jesus is
just a myth or fairy tale, but I am not ashamed.
Some will say it is foolishness to believe that a
dead man can rise from the grave, but I am not
ashamed. Some will say that the Bible is a
hoax, but I am not ashamed. Some will say
that we are stupid and ignorant to believe in
Jesus, but I am not ashamed. Some will say
that the gospel is a fool’s game, but I am not
ashamed.

39. Consider these scriptures and the lesson is
yours.
Romans 1:16 ESV For I am not ashamed of
the gospel, for it is the power of God for
salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew
first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the
righteousness of God is revealed from faith for
faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live
by faith."

40. Philippians 1:19 ESV for I know that through
your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus
Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20
as it is my eager expectation and hope that I
will not be at all ashamed, but that with full
courage now as always Christ will be honored
in my body, whether by life or by death.

41. 2 Timothy 1:7 ESV for God gave us a spirit not
of fear but of power and love and self-control. 8
Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony
about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but
share in suffering for the gospel by the power
of God, 9 who saved us and called us to a holy
calling, not because of our works but because
of his own purpose and grace, which he gave
us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 10
and which now has been manifested through
the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who
abolished death and brought life and
immortality to light through the gospel,

42. 2 Timothy 1:12 ESV . . . But I am not ashamed,
for I know whom I have believed, and I am
convinced that he is able to guard until that
Day what has been entrusted to me.
1 Peter 4:16 ESV Yet if anyone suffers as a
Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him
glorify God in that name.

43. Be Holy.
Be Faithful.
Be Unashamed.
That is the challenge of discipleship.
Are you up to the challenge?
“I’m Not Ashamed to Own my Lord.”