Being a Christian is not simply believing in Jesus and saying you’re a Christian, it’s becoming an apprentice under Jesus. This involves being with Jesus, becoming like him, and doing what he did. 

SERIES INTRO

In recent years, the RiverLife leadership recognized the need to rethink our church's strategy. With over 10 years and two campuses, we've realized that what got us here won’t get us there.

First, we crafted a new mission statement: “We are a next-gen Hmong church experiencing God together.” This reflects a holistic faith that is equal parts experiential, theological, and communal.

With a new mission, we needed new values to guide our actions. Values are essential for prioritizing and making decisions to live out our mission.

In the next six weeks, I’ll share six new values to carry us into the next decade:

1. We Apprentice under Jesus

2. We Are Ministers of Restoration

3. We Have an Abundance Mindset

4. We Entrust the Next Generation

5. We Are Courageously Transparent

6. We Have Fun Together

This morning, we begin with the value that we apprentice under Jesus.

My Research question

A few years ago, I became curious about how our church folks became Christian. So, I started asking people: “What makes you a Christian?” The most common answers were variations of “I believe in God” and “I try to be a good person.” Fewer than half mentioned Jesus, and even fewer gave a more conventional answer like, “I believe in Jesus as my Lord and Savior.”

These answers surprised me. I was struck by the gap between how people saw being a Christian and how the bible talks about being a Christian. It also made me want to come up with a clear, biblical definition of a Christian. I found that in the writings of John Mark Comer: We apprentice under Jesus.

The Meaning of Apprentice

Today’s sermon is going to make some of you very uncomfortable. But I’m okay with that because this is important.

Being a Christian isn’t simply believing in God or even Jesus. It’s not trying to be a good person, doing things a Christian is supposed to do. And it’s definitely not simply saying you’re a Christian.

But it is becoming an apprentice of Jesus. This involves being with Jesus, becoming like him, and doing what he did. This is commonly referred to as discipleship, but we’re choosing to use “apprentice under Jesus” because it’s clearer.

Being an apprentice means learning from a mentor through close guidance over time.

I was a high school math teacher in the 90s. (Yes, I did once have hair.) Before I was a full-time teacher, I was a student teacher under a mentor named Chris Shore. I observed him teach, and he observed me in return. We shared lunches, prep periods, and even coached water polo and swimming together. I spent my whole day with him. That’s how I learned to be a teacher.

After I got hired, I worked alongside Chris for five more years. He became a dear friend, and we still keep in touch. How I teach here on Sundays is influenced by what I learned from him 30 years ago. This shows the lasting impact of apprenticeship.

Bible – Cost of Discipleship

Apprenticeship is not new; it has existed for ages. Even Jesus used this model with his disciples, as did all rabbis. They invited the brightest teenage boys to be their talmidim, or disciples. These apprentices spent all their time with their rabbi, focusing on three things: being with him, becoming like him, and doing as he did.

When Jesus began his ministry, he invited 12 men to do the same thing: be with him, become like him, and do what he did. But along the way, crowds started to follow him, and Jesus would invite them to do the same.

This is what we see in Luke 14:25-35. It employs a common literary device in the gospels: contrasting the crowds and disciples.

25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

34 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.

“Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

This scene is typical of Jesus’ ministry. He would teach, heal, and deliver, and it he would draw a crowd. But crowds are not the same as disciples. Attending church is not the same as apprenticing under Jesus. Calling yourself a Christian isn’t the same as apprenticing under Jesus.

Let’s break this passage down.

Large crowds started following Jesus, so he turned around and spoke to them. It’s like he’s saying, “Okay, crowds, you want to follow me? Here’s what it’s gonna take.”

Then, he repeats the exact phrase three times in 7 minutes of talking: “If you’re not willing to do BLANK, you cannot be my disciple.” Jesus lays out three hard sayings, non-negotiables for a disciple. Crowds don’t have to do these things, but disciples do.

• If you don’t hate your family and even your own life, you cannot be my disciple. (v26)

• If you aren’t willing to carry your cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple. (v27)

• If you do not give up everything, you cannot be my disciple. (v33)

Before we dive into each hard saying, let’s talk about hyperbole or exaggeration. It was a common rhetorical device for rabbis to use. We use it all the time. (See what I did there? That’s hyperbole.)

• “I have a million things to do today.”

• “This bag weighs a ton.”

• “Black Adam was the best superhero movie.”

Jesus uses hyperbole to say that being his disciple is serious business. It takes:

1. Reprioritizing your relationships.

2. Unparalleled self-sacrifice.

3. Expecting to pay a huge price.

If that’s not what you signed up for, Jesus says you’re not a disciple. You’re just part of the crowd.

Let’s look at these three hard sayings from Jesus about being his disciple.

1. Hate Family

First, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.” (v26)

Some of you are thinking, “No problem. I already hate my family.” Nah. It’s not like that. Jesus is NOT telling you (or giving you permission) to hate your family. That would violate the Fifth Commandment – “Honor your mother and father.” So, what is he saying?

When a passage is unclear, it can be helpful to look at parallel passages in other gospels. For example, in Matthew 10:37, Jesus is more literal.

37 Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

This is an issue of what Augustine calls disordered loves—when we love the right things in the wrong order. It’s not wrong to love your family. It IS wrong to love them more than you love Jesus.

But it goes further than just your family members. It also applies to your family values and practices. If you look and act more like your parents than Jesus, then you’re not living as an apprentice under Jesus. You’re living as a by-product of your parents.

2. Carry Cross & Follow Me

The next hard thing Jesus said was this: “Whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. (v27)

This one is about self-sacrifice, figuratively dying to yourself, your ways, your wants, your desires.

Famous author Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in his book The Cost of Discipleship, writes, “When Christ calls a man (or woman), he bids them come and die.”

It’s not:

• When Christ calls a man (or woman), he bids them… come to church.”

• Or “he bids them… be a good person.”

• Or “he bids them… call yourself a Christian.”

Calling yourself a Christian can be almost anything you want it to be. But being a disciple, an apprentice under Jesus, means dying to yourself every single day. And dying to self is absolute surrender to God.

Are you willing to walk the path of dying to yourself alongside Jesus? If not, you’re not a disciple. You’re just part of the crowd.

3. Give Up Everything

The third hard thing Jesus said was this—and he got personal with this one— “Those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.” (v33)

This one is about what it will cost you to follow Jesus. Spoiler alert: everything.

Before Jesus said this, he presented two situations to illustrate the risks of carelessly jumping into discipleship without first understanding the demands it will place on your life, decisions, words, and everything else.

The first was a builder who had to make sure he had enough money to complete his tower. The second was a king going to war who had to make sure his army could defeat the enemy’s army.

Both scenarios describe the disastrous outcomes of shallow commitment, poor planning, or unrealistic expectations.

We would agree with both stories. And yet, when the Christian faith gets hard, we compromise, check out, or just quit.

• How many people do you know who stopped going to church when things got hard or just too busy?

• Or a family that went back to Shamanism when the pastor’s prayers didn’t heal their child?

• Or someone who cherry-picks their morality when it’s easy or convenient.

About 15 years ago, when I began considering full-time ministry, I developed a little mantra that I’ve told myself thousands of times: My life is not my own. That means that there’s nothing that I can’t be willing to give up to God. Now, I don’t get it right all the time. I just hope I get it right more than I get it wrong.

“Those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.”

If that’s not your view of being a Christian, you’re not a disciple. You’re just part of the crowd.

Closing

So, where do you find yourself today? Are you part of the crowd—curious but unwilling to commit? Or are you truly apprenticing under Jesus—willing to reprioritize your relationships, die to yourself daily, and surrender everything to Him?

Jesus didn’t mince words. Discipleship isn’t easy or convenient; it’s costly. It’s a call to a life that is radically different: being with Jesus, becoming like him, and doing as he did.

But here’s the paradox: when you give everything to Jesus, you don’t lose—you gain. You gain purpose, joy, and a relationship with the One who gave everything for you.

This week, I challenge you to reflect on these hard sayings of Jesus. Ask yourself:

1. Are there relationships, values, or behaviors in my life that I love more than Jesus?

2. What areas of my life do I need to surrender so I can carry my cross daily?

3. What would it look like for me to be willing to give up anything, and maybe even everything, to follow Jesus?

Jesus isn’t looking for fans or crowds; He’s looking for disciples. Crowds come to get something from Jesus. Disciples come to get Jesus himself.

Are you here to get something from Jesus? Or are you here to get Jesus himself?

Will you step out of the crowd and apprentice under Jesus?

As we close, remember this: Jesus doesn’t call us to this life of discipleship to burden us but to free us. When we talk in His ways, we experience the abundant life He promised—a life of intimacy with Him, transformation, and a legacy that will ripple through generations.

And that’s why our first church value is that we apprentice under Jesus.

Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.