Abiding in Jesus, We Are Making Disciples Together

Good morning, Watermark. How are we doing today? I hope your summer is coming to a good close. I'm glad you made it today. If this is your first time ever with us, if you're just trying to start out the school year on the right note, I'm so glad you made it, and I hope this place feels like home very quickly. Whether this is your first time or your last time at Watermark, I hope you truly meet with God today.

We're about to step into studying the Word of God. We believe God has gone to great lengths to speak to us, that when we open up this book we get to hear from him. I don't know if you came today expecting to hear from God, but I believe he wants to speak to you. I want to give you a moment to prepare your heart for the teaching of God's Word.

So, if you will, take a second and pray and say, "God, would you speak to me this morning?" Then would you pray for the people sitting around you, your family, friends, and other brothers and sisters in Christ, and would you just say, "God, would you speak to them as well?" Then would you pray for me that God would speak clearly through me to you today?

Lord, thanks that you're here. God, we want to meet with you. We want to hear from you. Lord, may our eyes be opened to see you. May our ears be opened to hear from you, and may our hearts be receptive to all you want to say to us today. We need you, and we love you. In Jesus' name, amen.

A couple of weeks ago, the Ateek family had the opportunity to spend several days in Colorado. During our time in Colorado, we went for hikes on two different days, and it was on those hikes that I realized the Ateek family is more indoorsy than outdoorsy. As I was preparing for this talk, I started thinking about our second hike, and what I realized was that on that hike the win for the hike kept changing, depending on what moment we were in.

For a good portion of the hike, the win was simply to not encounter a bear, because we had heard there were bears in that area. A friend had sent me a picture of a bear in that area. The sign for the trailhead had this whole bear warning, and it was like, "If you come across a bear, use your bear spray from 40 feet away, and if a bear is on top of you, don't play dead but fight with all you have." I'm like, "Okay. Well, the win would be to not have to do that. Since the Ateek family is fresh out of bear spray, it would be nice to have a bear-free hike."

Then the win kind of changed, because as I got into the hike, I started thinking, "It would kind of be cool to see a bear…from far away, but that would be kind of cool." So I began to look around, hoping to see a bear. Then the win changed again because my kids started complaining about the hike. The win became to push my boys to be tougher when it came to hiking, so I took us on too long of a hike. I believe my wife's exact words were, "I'm going to kill you." I think that's what she said.

Then the win just became, "We just want to finish. We just want to make it. We just want to get done." The win kept changing depending on the moment we were in. The reason I tell you that is we are now kind of at the trailhead of a new fall semester, and if you don't clarify the win for this fall from now, then I guarantee you the win is going to be changing all throughout the fall, depending on the moment you're in.

The win right now might be, "I want to get the promotion at work," but then the win might change and be, "I just want to make sure I don't lose my job at work." The win right now might be, "I want my kid to graduate cum laude," and then the win might become, "I just want my kid to graduate cum lucky." That could change. Some of y'all might be like, "The win would be for me to win my Fantasy Football league," and then at some point it might be, "I just don't want to be last place. I don't have time for the consequence we have established."

So, what I want to encourage you with this morning is to get clarity on what the ultimate win would be for the fall. I believe it is possible that no matter the highs and no matter the lows, even if a bear kind of shows up in your fall, it is possible for you to get to the end, look back, and say, "This fall was absolutely a win."

What I want to do right now is introduce you to eight words that the 200-plus staff at Watermark Community Church have been leaning into over several months now. This has kind of become our north star. This is what we have been attempting to rally around. The reason I want to introduce it to you, and even encourage you to spend time thinking about it and knowing it, is I believe it is in these eight words where we get clarity on what God believes the win will be for this fall and beyond.

Here are the eight words: abiding in Jesus, we are making disciples together. I believe those eight words clarify the win for this fall and beyond, because in those eight words are three ideas that aren't driven by circumstances but by Scripture, and I believe they are God's win for this fall. In those words…abiding in Jesus, we are making disciples together…we find these three ideas: abiding in Jesus, making disciples, and enjoying life together.

If you want to win this fall, then I assure you the best thing you can do is to prioritize these three things: abiding in Jesus, making disciples, and enjoying life together. So, I just want to spend some time unpacking these three ideas for you so that we, the people of Watermark, can get to the end of the fall, look back, and say, "God did something amazing in my life and in our church over the past several months."

We're going to start with abiding in Jesus. If you have a Bible, join me in John, chapter 15. That's where we'll start. We're going to have to jump around to different places in Scripture today, which is abnormal to what we normally do. Normally, we're just rooted in one text. One thing that has been encouraging to me is over the last couple of months, I've heard some of you say, "I'm just excited to get back into a book. I'm ready for us to dive deep into one book of the Bible and unpack it."

Well, good news. Starting next Sunday, we're going to start walking verse by verse through the book of Colossians, and it's going to take us a good chunk of the fall as we begin our Maturing Church series. If you want to read ahead, I encourage you to do so. You can read the whole book in about 15 minutes and know exactly where we're headed over the next several weeks.

I want to start by talking about abiding in Jesus. We get this idea of abiding in Jesus from John, chapter 15. If you were to ask me at coffee, "TA, what's your favorite passage in the Bible?" I would say, "That is so easy for me to answer." Since college, it has been John 15:1-11, because I believe it's the key to life. John 15:5 is on a big painting on my wall in my office. I love John, chapter 15, because it's where Jesus unpacks this idea of abiding.

Now, you need to know the context to John 15. It happens on the night Jesus is arrested. Jesus has just shared the Last Supper with his closest friends, and most likely, they get up from the supper and begin to make their way to the garden of Gethsemane where Jesus is going to be arrested. On their way, they probably pass through a vineyard, and Jesus gathers his closest friends and uses a grapevine as a teaching tool in helping his friends understand what it will look like to relate to him.

He shares this with them. He says, "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."

I want you to think about it. Jesus is just a couple of hours from being arrested. He's under 24 hours away from being crucified. What would you do if you knew you were going to die tomorrow? If you knew you were going to die in 24 hours, I guarantee you that you would gather the people closest to you and make your words count.

So, the fact that Jesus chose this topic right before he's about to be arrested shows you the importance. He wants his disciples to lock into it. This is the key to life: abiding in Jesus. If you do anything this fall, let it be abiding. Abiding in Jesus Christ is the key. If you were to go and read all of John 15:1-11, you would see Jesus Christ is making the case that abiding in him is the key to a meaningful, productive, and joy-filled life.

Now, my question for you is…Are you clear on what it means to abide in Christ? We use that language. You might even find yourself saying, "You know, I just want to make sure I'm abiding." But what does that actually mean? Does that just mean making sure you have a consistent quiet time? Does it mean you work really hard to reflect Jesus and represent Jesus in your daily life? Let me help you understand what it means to abide in Jesus Christ.

That word abide comes from the Greek word meno, which means to stay or remain. Jesus' friends asked him, "Hey, Jesus, where are you staying?" or "Where are you abiding?" The way I like to explain abiding in Christ is it means to move in and live all of life with Jesus Christ. It's a life of continuous connection to Jesus. It's a life of desperate dependence upon Jesus in order to truly have a fruitful life.

It's like a branch. You think about a branch connected to a vine. A branch cannot be fruitful unless it is continuously connected and desperately dependent upon all the life and all of the nutrients coming up through the vine to the branches so that the branch can be fruitful, but if that branch tries to live apart from the vine, it becomes a stick, incapable of being productive or having a meaningful existence.

That's why Jesus says at the end of verse 5, "…apart from me you can do nothing." Abiding means continuous connection and desperate dependence. Now, this is where I need to make sure you don't miss what I'm saying. If you're tuned out, if you're kind of still on summer break, welcome back. The fall is here, so lock in with me. Don't miss the question I'm asking.

When you look at these two verses, John 15:4-5, the command is not to bear fruit; the command is to abide. Bearing fruit is what naturally comes from abiding, but the command from Jesus is to abide. The reason it is important for you to understand that the command is to abide is I think we have a tendency to seek to be productive for Jesus without being with Jesus or connected to Jesus. I think we spend time trying to do for Jesus without being connected and with Jesus.

I'm just sharing with you one of my greatest concerns for the people of Watermark who have a tendency to be high-capacity, high-achieving, high-activating individuals: that you know how to stand for Jesus, you know how to live for Jesus, you know how to do good things for Jesus, but you don't know how to be with and enjoy Jesus.

I think about the story of Mary and Martha. Some of you all are like, "Oh man. I've heard this one a million times." Well, I'm going to ask you, if you think you know where I'm going… And you probably do, but I'm going to ask you to hear this story as if you've heard it for the first time, because if there's a callus on your heart to the story, you might resist finding yourself in the story. Listen to what it says in Luke, chapter 10.

"Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted…" So, you get the picture. Mary is just sitting at the feet of Jesus learning from him, listening to him, being with him, but then it says Martha is distracted. What is she distracted by? She's distracted with much serving. Interesting.

"And she went up to him and said, 'Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.' But the Lord answered her, 'Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.'"

What is the one thing that is necessary? It is to be with Jesus. Martha is seeking to serve Jesus, yet the text calls her serving a distraction. Why? Because her serving Jesus is keeping her from actually being with Jesus, which means her serving is keeping her from the one necessary thing. I just wonder how many of us, if we were honest, can identify with that. We are really great at activating for Jesus. We're really good at serving Jesus or living for Jesus or standing for Jesus, yet we don't know what it truly looks like to be with Jesus.

I want to share my deep personal conviction. This is something from deep in my bones. If there's anything you know me for, let it be this. If there's anything you have a disagreement with me about, let it be this. It is my deep conviction, as I've spent time with the Lord processing this idea of abiding, that truly spiritually mature Christians seek Jesus with no agenda except to be with Jesus. If you're hearing that and are like, "Man, I'm kind of mature. I've been at this for a long time," just evaluate. Do you know what it looks like to seek Jesus with no agenda except to be with Jesus?

If I were to ask you, "What's the greatest thing Jesus could do for you right now?" some of you might be like, "It would be for him to finally man up and ask me out. You know what would be nice? It would be nice if I could get a different job. It would be nice if I could get a spouse or a better spouse. The best thing you could do for me, Jesus, is to give me a little bit of stability financially. It would be great if you could take away this chronic pain."

All of those things… I understand where you're coming from, but the reality is the greatest thing Jesus could do for you today is to give you more of himself, to give you eyes to behold his beauty even more, to unplug your ears in such a way that you would hear from him in a crystal-clear way, that your heart would be so soft that as he speaks, it's receptive. That's the greatest thing he could do for you today: to give you more of himself.

So, when I talk about seeking Jesus with no other agenda except to get more of Jesus, what I'm saying is the agenda is connection. That's abiding. The agenda is to be connected to Jesus. Fruit is simply the overflow of that connection, a connection where you become more acquainted with his presence, more captivated by his beauty, and you find life and joy in him.

Do you know what it's like to seek Jesus simply to get more of Jesus? You're not seeking him so you will be more fruitful. You're not seeking him just so he will provide for you. You're seeking him to get him. Let me share with you what this has looked like in my life. At the end of the spring, I was really busy at work, so I was doing a lot to serve Jesus.

I've been in a Bible reading plan this year which has had me reading anywhere between three and six chapters of the Scripture each day. It has been great. I've really enjoyed it. But especially on the days where I'm making my way through four, five, or six chapters, I have found myself prioritizing completion over connection. If you put those things together, where I'm doing a lot to serve Jesus and reading a lot for Jesus, what I began to sense was something in me missing just being with Jesus.

So, do you know what I did? I pushed pause on my Bible reading plan. Some of you type-A people are like, "Don't do that." I pushed pause on it for three weeks. That stresses some of you out, because you're like, "Man, how are you going to finish now by December 31? Let me get with you and help you kind of map it back out. You're going to have to carve out some time, because we really have to get you through all…" You can just calm down.

I felt great about pushing pause on it for three weeks. Let me tell you what I did for those three weeks. Every day for those three weeks, I meditated on Psalm 96. You're like, "You didn't just read it once and move on?" Nope. Three weeks, every day, Psalm 96. I would just take one verse a day and begin to meditate on it and allow the Lord to do work on my heart through it.

Do you know how Psalm 96 starts? Listen to what it says. "Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day." Do you know what I normally do when I read verses that say, "Sing to the Lord a new song"? I'm like, "It sounds good. Okay." Then I just keep reading. I don't stop and sing. Do you stop and sing when you read, "Sing to the Lord a new song"? You don't want to hear me sing. If you stand by me in worship, I'm sorry.

But when I started reading Psalm 96, I started asking myself, "What is the song in my heart toward God right now?" So, I opened up my little Day One journaling app and started journaling a few verses of my song to God. I started doing that every couple of days where I would just ask the question, "What's the song in my heart to God right now?"

I just began to put these lyrics in my journal. They didn't rhyme. You will never hear me share them with you, but this was just me pouring my heart out to God. It was me telling myself, reminding myself of who God is and what he has accomplished. It's not me-centered; it's God-centered.

Then, after I would spend time meditating on Psalm 96, I would set a timer on my phone from, depending on the day, anywhere from 3 minutes to 15 minutes, and I would just sit quietly. I wasn't praying. I wasn't talking. All I was doing was sitting and making myself aware of God's presence with me. I was allowing myself to be reminded of God's beauty, his goodness, the goodness of the Savior.

Do you know what's interesting? I was doing that because all I want is more of Jesus. Like, "I don't need anything from you except you." It was interesting, because the more I would sit and linger in God's Word, and then I would just sit and make myself aware of his presence… If you were to go and read in my journal, you would see the song begin to change. It became more and more clear that I had been with Jesus.

The reason I share that with you is I want to encourage you this week to pray and ask Jesus, "What does it look like for me to seek you with no agenda except to be with you?" Ask him that. Now, some of you are hearing what I'm talking about… Like, I'm writing a song. I'm just sitting in the presence. You're like, "This is too flowery. This is too mystical. This is too romantic." You think it's kind of a personality thing, that it works for me but it's not going to work for you.

I just need to remind you of Jesus. Jesus was a high-charger. He was highly driven. He had 80-hour workweeks. He was doing a lot for God, yet what would he do? Early in the morning, he would steal away to just be with God. He was God, yet he would steal away to spend hours just being with God. He has given us the capacity through faith in him to do likewise.

So, here's my hope for our church. My hope is that the people of Watermark would abide in Jesus this fall, that we would seek to be with Jesus with no agenda except to get more of Jesus, and yet in being with Jesus and getting more of Jesus, the overflow of your life would be more fruit. So, if you want to know the win, abide in Jesus.

Let me just tell you, this Thursday night, we're having a Night of Prayer and Worship right in this room. If you've been a part of those in the past over the last year, you know those are special moments. That's a time for our church family to come together to seek Jesus for the sake of getting more of Jesus. So make it a priority to join your church family as we seek Jesus together.

The eight words we're clueing in on are abiding in Jesus, we're making disciples together. We talked about abiding in Jesus. Now, if you want to win this fall, then we need to move on and talk about making disciples. Let's be clear. Making disciples always has to come after abiding in Jesus. If you try to make disciples without abiding in Jesus, it's not going to happen.

If you try to make disciples without abiding in Jesus, then you're trying to make something that you aren't yourself. My friend Kylen Perry, the young adults director here, says in order to be effective, you first have to be affected. I tell you that to say making disciples is such a priority, but it only comes after you first abide.

Some of the most famous words in the Bible are in Matthew 28:18-20. It's referred to as the Great Commission. Listen to what it says. "And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.'" "All authority in heaven and on earth." That means Jesus Christ is made out to be the supreme authority throughout the universe. His rank is supreme. His rule is supreme. His commands are supreme. He is the King.

Here's the command of the King. Look at what he goes on to say. "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…" Do you understand what's happening here? Jesus is like, "Let me just be clear on who I am. All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth, which means there is no one like me. There is no one who should have greater authority in your life than me. So, because I am your ultimate authority, here is your command: go and make disciples."

Here's what that means for every believer of Jesus Christ in the room. That's not a suggestion. That's not just something that should find itself way down your list of priorities. This is what you are to leverage your life for. If there's anything you do this fall, it should be to abide in Jesus and to make disciples. This isn't just extra credit for the Jesus freaks in the room. This is the call on every single Christian's life.

It is to make disciples where you work. It's to make disciples where you live. It's to make disciples where you work out. It's to make disciples where you shop. It's to make disciples where you eat regularly. What is a disciple? A disciple is a learner and a follower. So, what is Jesus calling us to do? He is calling us to leverage our lives for the sake of cultivating learners and followers of Jesus Christ.

Now, let's be clear. He says, "Go and make disciples of all nations." That means we are responsible for cultivating learners and followers of Jesus not just here in Dallas, not just here in the United States, but throughout the earth. That's why we have to be a part of God's gospel going to the people in the world who have yet to hear the name of Jesus Christ. We are to make disciples of all nations.

Then he clarifies exactly what type of people we're trying to form. "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." That means we're not just trying to get people to come to church. We're not just trying to get people to pray a prayer to be saved. We're trying to help people understand that Jesus gave his life for them so that they could give their life to him.

Listen to the wording there. It's important. Jesus gave his life for us so that we could give our lives to him. Those words so that are very intentional. When I say Jesus gave his life for us so that we could give our lives to him, what I'm saying is Jesus has given us the privilege, the ability, to give our lives to him.

Now, you might think, "Well, I don't want to give my life to him. I just want to hold on to my life." Well, here's the thing: that's not an option. Apart from Christ, your only option is to give your life to Satan, sin, and death. That's reality. Yet Jesus, in his kindness, came as our rescuer, and on the cross he went to war and conquered. Through his death, through his burial and resurrection, he has conquered Satan, sin, and death.

Through faith in Jesus Christ, he has given us the ability and the capacity through his Spirit for us to give our lives to him, and there's no one whose hands your life is safer in than Jesus Christ. You've been made for him. You have been made to live life with him. If you want to experience life to the full, it's only found in the one who has made you for himself. So, the calling on our lives is to make disciples. If you want to win this fall, abide in Jesus and make disciples.

Now, did you see how that text ended? Look at what Jesus says at the end of verse 20. "And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." That's good news, because what that means is Jesus isn't calling us to make disciples for him; he's calling us to make disciples with him.

Jesus isn't sitting there saying, "Guys, I'll be here when you get back. Go out and find some people, and don't come back until you get me some more followers." He's saying, "I'm with you always. I'm the one who has made a way when there was no way for people to be made right with the God of the universe, and now I'm going to be with you to go out and bring them in."

So, there are two questions I want to invite you to answer over the course of the next week. The first one is…Who in your life needs to be introduced to Jesus? Does anyone come to mind? Who are the unbelievers in your spheres of influence? A sphere of influence is anywhere you go regularly every week and encounter the same group of people. That is a sphere of influence God has placed you in.

Your neighborhood is a sphere of influence. Your apartment complex is a sphere of influence. The gym is a sphere of influence. The place you eat breakfast at every Tuesday morning, like I do, is a sphere of influence. Your workplace is a sphere of influence. Who are the unbelievers in your spheres of influence? Let me just say this. If you don't have any meaningful interactions with unbelievers, I want to encourage you to change your rhythms. If you don't have any friends who are unbelievers, you need to get some.

So, here's what I want to encourage you to do as a follower of Jesus Christ. Try to identify five people who don't know Jesus whom you can begin to pray for regularly, and then you can look for opportunities to share Jesus with them. Try to identify five people you can begin to pray for consistently and seek to find opportunities to introduce them to Jesus. Then let me encourage you with this. There are some people in your life… It has been long enough that you just need to create the opportunity.

Here's what I mean by that. If you want Jesus to come up in conversation, bring Jesus up in conversation. Just bring it up. This is an example from my own life. I firmly believe God put us on Glen Cove Drive in Richardson in part to live next door to a 97- and 94-year-old couple. These two people are people we've been praying for. We've had them over for dinner. I get the sense that they've never truly fully understood the gospel.

So, we had them over dinner, and I was looking for opportunities to share the gospel with them. It didn't come up. I kind of shared some of our story. You know, when someone is 97 years old, you don't know how much longer you have. I'm just stating reality. I would drive by and see him outside, and I'm like, "I don't know how many more times I'm going to see this guy." I sensed that the Lord was like, "The next time you see him, that's your opportunity. Hello! There it is."

So, just a few weeks ago, he was outside trying to work on his trees, and I was like, "I guess this is the time that I'm about to go share the gospel with Mr. [So-and-so]." So I walked outside, and I was like, "Hey, Mr. [So-and-so], can I help you with your tree?" He said, "No," which I was so thankful for, because I wouldn't know what to do anyway, but then I was like, "Hey, Mr. [So-and-so], I hope this doesn't offend you, but I just want to ask you. With being 97, have you thought about what is next for you?" And I was in the conversation.

It was great, because he was like, "Well, you know, I've gone to church. We go to church over there. I grew up in this denomination." It gave me an opportunity to share with him, "You know what? If I were to stand before God, and God were to ask me, 'Why should I let you into heaven?' my tendency would want to be to tell him, 'You know what, God? I've gone to church all my life, and I've sought to do good,' but here's the reality. If God is perfect and I'm imperfect…" He was like, "Yeah, I'm imperfect."

I was like, "Well, then it doesn't matter how hard I try. I'm never going to meet God's standard of perfection. Yet Jesus Christ left heaven and came to earth, and he was perfect in our place. He died for our sins, and he rose from the dead so we can, through faith, be made right with God. Is that something you've understood? Is that something you believe?" "Well, yeah." You know, he didn't fully bite. I was like, "Okay. Well, I tried."

So I said, "Bye," and I was walking away. As I was walking back to my house, the Spirit was like, "I think you need to go back." I was like, "I really don't think I do. We've said 'Bye.'" It's like when you go to lunch with someone, and you say, "Bye" at the door, and then you realize you parked next to each other, and now you have that awkward walk all the way to your cars. Do you know what I'm talking about?

I just felt like the Spirit was like, "Free gift. Free gift. Free gift." I was like, "All right. Free gift." So I was like, "Hey, Mr. [So-and-so], you know, I just wanted to make sure you know what we're talking about. We're talking about a free gift, but you have to open the gift. You have to unwrap it in order to experience it and enjoy it. Jesus Christ is that free gift. Have you received that gift?" He still wasn't responsive. I wish I was sitting up here like, "And right then and there, 97 years old…"

My responsibility now is to pray and beg the Spirit of God to move, but part of the reason God put us on Glen Cove was for that conversation and what other conversations God has in store for us in the future. So, I just want to ask you. Who are the people in your spheres of influence whom God wants you to introduce to Jesus? You'd be surprised how many people are willing to talk about it. You think it's going to ruin the relationship. It probably won't.

The second question I'd encourage you to ask is…Who can you help grow in their relationship with Jesus? Like, people who are already in a relationship with Jesus Christ. If we're called to make disciples, who can you help grow in their relationship with Jesus? I think about the men God has used in my life…Ken Lawrence, Brian Mountjoy, Reese Graves, Brian Fisher, Gregg Matte. All of these men, at some point in my life, have spent intentional time with me to help me take steps toward maturity in my faith.

Who are the people for you? As I'm rattling off my list, maybe you have a list, and you're thinking through the names of the people who have invested in you. Do you know what the great news is? You can be someone's name on someone's list. God might want to use you to help someone else take a step in their faith.

You might be like, "Well, I don't know enough." You know something. You might not know everything, but you know something. You might not have everything to give, but you have something to give. Just be up front with that. "I don't know everything. Here's what I do know, and I'd love to share that with you."

Maybe it means jumping in and serving in children's ministry or student ministry or college ministry or jumping in with some young adults. Maybe it means inviting a few men or a few women from your office or from your neighborhood to jump in and read through a book with you or to study a book of the Bible together. Make disciples. It's what we're called to do. If you do anything this fall, this is the command from the King. This is what we're to be about.

If you're a parent in here, let me just share this with you. It is not the church staff's responsibility, and it's not the responsibility of a private Christian school to make disciples of our kids. It's our responsibility as parents. The church is here to help and resource you, but if your kid knows from you how to excel as an athlete or to excel in academics but they don't know what it looks like to grow up into Christ, let me encourage you to reorder your priorities, because we're called to make disciples of our kids.

Then let me say this. It's hard to make what you aren't already. Whether you've been a Christian for 5 days or 50 years, let me encourage you. Every single one of us has room to grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ. If you're a member at Watermark, let me beg you to take ownership of your own discipleship. Where do you need to grow, and what are you proactively doing to grow in that area?

Maybe it's time to finally show up to re:gen tomorrow night. Stop minimizing that sin struggle and just hit it head on. If you have questions about the faith, especially if you're an unbeliever, and you have pressing questions, come to Great Questions and get your questions answered right here at the church. Don't just sit back and watch your marriage burn to the ground. Show up to re|engage.

If you need to take steps toward theological depth, look at the different Equipping options we have here at the church. There is stuff going on on this campus every night of the week, and it's here to help you grow as a disciple of Christ. What we're doing here on Sunday mornings is extremely important, but what's happening during the week is extremely important as well. So jump in.

Abiding in Jesus, we're making disciples together. So, if you want to win this fall, abide in Jesus, make disciples, and finally, enjoy life together. Look quickly with me at Ecclesiastes 4. Look at what Solomon says. "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil." He's making the point that if you want to accomplish something, it's better to do it with other people. Think about that spiritually. If you really want to grow, if you want to get somewhere spiritually, you're going to need other people close in your life, challenging you.

Verse 10: "For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!" When you fall into sin, do you have the right people in your life to lift you up? God uses his people to lift up his people. Verse 11: "Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone?" The reality is life can be bitterly cold sometimes. Cancer happens. Chronic pain comes. Job loss happens. Breakups happen. Depression happens.

When life gets cold, our tendency is to go and shiver alone. Do you have a few people in your life who refuse to let you shiver alone? We believe in having people who are committed to keeping you warm during the coldest seasons of life. Verse 12: "And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken."

"A man might prevail against one who is alone." Here's what that means. You're under attack. You have an enemy who hates you, and he spends considerable time thinking about how to steal joy from you, promote brokenness in you, and ruin your relationship with God. That's why every single one of us needs a small army of men or women willing to go to battle with us, for us, every single day.

Jesus has already won the battle. He has conquered sin and death through his death, burial, and resurrection, yet his victory, by the power of his Spirit, often manifests itself through his people. God displays his power to us through his people. That's why community is our middle name. This is why every member at Watermark is required to be in a Community Group. We value every person experiencing what Ecclesiastes is talking about.

Is this what you're experiencing from others? More importantly, is this what you're offering to others? Here's the thing. We live in this age of individualism where people want to take the mentality "It's my business and no one else's," like true strength is handling it on your own. I remember calling a friend who lives in a different city, and I knew he was struggling. I knew he was abusing alcohol. I knew there were very heartbreaking things happening with one of his kids.

I called him. I was like, "Hey, man. How are you doing?" Do you know what he said? He just said, "Man, I'm better than I deserve. I'm doing great." Do you know what that was? That was a man who was deciding to shiver all alone. That was a guy who was falling into a pit and was content to live there. That was a man who was being attacked and was willing to lose by himself.

Here at Watermark, we wholeheartedly reject all of this. We believe every person deserves to be known, challenged, prayed for, and cared for. We do that in the context of community. So, if you're looking for a church that's just about attending on Sundays, you have the wrong church. If you're looking for a church that has groups, but those groups are basically glorified superficial supper clubs, you have the wrong church.

We expect our Community Groups to be places where we are fully known and fully loved. So, if your Community Group is in a rut, if your group is hanging by a thread, do something about it. Speak up. Say something. Call your group to pray and fast for God's movement and direction for your group. If you need help, email community@watermark.org and let us help you. We want every person to enjoy life together, but it takes commitment.

I'll close by saying this. Do you know what happened on that hike with my family? We all made it back to the car. We got in the car, and Kat and I both agreed, "That was a win." Isn't that interesting? We didn't start the hike knowing what the win was, but we stumbled into it. We lucked into it. You don't have to cross your fingers that you're going to luck into a win at the end of the fall. You can know from now what it looks like to win. Abiding in Jesus, we're making disciples together. This fall, will you abide in Jesus? Will you make disciples? Will you commit to enjoying life together?

If you're here today, and you don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ, before you abide in Jesus, you need to know Jesus. Before you make disciples, you have to become a disciple. Before you can enjoy life in the family of God, you have to realize that right now you're an enemy of God, and the only way into the family of God is through the provision of God, Jesus Christ. So, would you put your trust in him? Would you surrender your life to Jesus today? You can know his love, know his forgiveness. You can begin to abide. You can begin to make disciples, and you can enjoy life in the family of God. Let's pray together.

Lord Jesus, I pray that right here, right before this fall semester begins, would you get ahold of our minds and our hearts? Lord, it is my deep request that every person in this room would see clearly that the best fall is one where we are found abiding in you, making disciples, and enjoying life in the context of community. So, God, sober us up and do a work in our hearts.

Lord, I pray that we would seek you for the sole purpose of finding you and being with you, God. Use us in the lives of others. If there's anyone here today who doesn't know you, I pray that, right now, they would sense that you are introducing yourself to them and calling them now to repent of their sin and put their trust in you. We need you. We love you, God. We sing to you now. In Jesus' name, amen.