Dr. Jonathan Reyes: "Impact The World As A Disciple" | SEEK2019 Men's Session

[Applause] morning gentlemen good to be with you on this fine day I am supposed to talk about discipleship in manhood but you know watching the way in which you guys out of the generosity and goodness of your hearts let the women win the game I think you're already there now that's just a secret for us we won't let it leak that you let them win because that would take it away from them but we'll just keep it right in this room man I've got 35 minutes with you and I don't want to waste any of it and in that 35 minutes I want to try to convey one thing to you and it's simply this the world does not need half disciples the invitation you've received from Christ this weekend for the first time this weekend for the 50th time is to be all in the cost of discipleship is everything men and if we don't give it everything all the hopes we have for changing the world all the dreams we have of having an impact the great adventure that set before us will fall short and so the one thing I want to convey to you about discipleship is it's all everything total abandonment all in because a half disciple is not a disciple and they don't accomplish the will of God it just doesn't work that way I'm gonna do that in two ways I'm going to talk a little bit about discipleship and I'm gonna talk a little bit about obstacles to discipleship in our own lives okay so that's it two pieces of the talk thirty minutes together I want you to consider for a moment about discipleship when the Lord invites people into discipleship what does he tell them there's two kinds of things the Lord does in that when he encounters people he'll he'll run into people and he'll speak to them and he'll heal them he'll raise them from the dead he'll heal their crippled hands he'll expel demons and - most of the people in the New Testament what does he say after he's done something for them he says go go go and tell people or going don't tell anyone go back to your town go and sin no more but there's another class of people in the New Testament to which after he encounters them he says to them come come follow me this is a special invitation in the New Testament method the invitation to come this is the invitation to the ultimate intimacy with him in a life of complete and total and radical discipleship it's the invitation he gave to the rich young man that story I'm sure we know well I like Mark's version of it the rich young ruler or the rich young man sees Jesus coming he's heard about him you remember this he runs out to him he pursues Christ sees christ's coming runs out to him and he says to him Lord good teacher what must they do to be to have eternal life and the Lord says to him challenges him a little bit good why do you call me good no man is good now the Lord is good but he's challenging him and this man's listens and the Lord says well basically follow the 10 commandments and you remember the rich young man says these I have done from my youth this is a good guy man this is a guy who's done these things and you would think wow what a great answer I wish when the Lord called me I could say to him the commandments I have done from my youth Lord I couldn't but the Lord doesn't leave in there he says you have one more thing give up all that you have and come follow me and then come gentlemen there is no greater life mission than to be invited by the king of the universe Lord and Master to come and follow him but what does it cost everything everything and your happiness gentlemen is connected to your ability to answer that question a question you're facing this weekend the question you're gonna face every day of the rest of your life the question for those of you who've been around for a long time we face all the time are you gonna give everything because if you can't give everything like the rich young man you will walk away sad sad but here's the thing gents the Lord isn't gonna trick you into becoming a disciple he's not going to pretend it doesn't cost everything this is the same Lord who says things to his disciples like if you follow me they will persecute you they will take you before their kings and set you before their council's and they will scourge you and they will mock you and Brother will be set against brother and child against parent this is the Lord who says if you would win your life if you would gain your life you must lose it this is the discipleship of st. Paul who says do you not know when you were baptized you were baptized into Christ's death the Lord doesn't lie he doesn't want cheap disciples gents when he invites you he doesn't want to deceive you in the least he wants you to know exactly what's at stake and exactly what's being asked and we could trust him on that and we can trust him on his promises that if we do give up everything we find ourselves that if we do say I will renounce at all that we gain it all that our happiness men depends on saying yes not in part and not to a lie or not to a half truth but to the full and complete invitation of Christ to give up everything you've heard a lot of talk about how much hope there is when people see you in the archbishop this morning Aquila is a friend of mine and he spoke to you beautifully about the hope he sees when he sees you in what you're saying gentlemen it's a hope that depends on your saying yes completely totally unconditionally and the Lord is never gonna deceive you about that why why is it like that well here's another way to think about discipleship man discipleship is imitating Jesus let's think about his life for a minute sometimes we hear imitate Jesus do what Jesus would do and we tend to think about difficult moral choices or saying kind words let's look at Jesus's life just for a minute let's take the big perspective we celebrated today the Epiphany what a great moment the king of the universe comes as a babe in the manger and kings from around the world follow a star to see him and they adore him good story and we see we say things like behold the Lord is here in power and Dominion we chanted this morning what happens very shortly after the kings go first thing that happens to our Lord is a babe his dad's awoken in the night to a dream you must flee and go into exile for they seek to kill him and he spends his youth in exile this is the Jesus who when he starts his public ministry what's the first thing that happens to him he says the Spirit of the Lord led him into the desert to do what men to do battle to do battle to fast for 40 days and to fight the first act of his prep for his ministry is to go to war in the desert this is the Jesus who spends his whole life doing things like healing people this is a good thing he heals a man with a withered hand in the temple on the Sabbath what do they say in Scripture they say that after this the Pharisees and leaders plotted to destroy him and we see the culmination of his life we see that he's preparing himself for that final stage and scripture tells us he set his face set it on Jerusalem with determination knowing everything he was going to face and he marches into Jerusalem he's praised and he knows it's temporary takes no joy in it he's put before a kangaroo court he's betrayed by his deepest friends he's left abandoned he's put on a cross he's cursed he's mocked and he dies this is the Jesus who says come follow me and imitate me now I'm not gonna leave us here men because that's where the Lord leaves us but if we don't see what we're actually being asked to join we won't be able to endure when we start experiencing things that Jesus experienced we know the end of the story men the end of the story is victory a victory that's permanent eternal done Christ the King reigns the Lion of Judah sits upon the throne it's over men we know who won this great battle the only question for each of us is who will reign with him well we trod the road he trod that we may reign with him or not gents you come on a weekend like this you experienced Christ you experienced brothers you you might encounter for maybe the first time what it's like to be with other men who are running after Christ oh my gosh I can be friends with these guys or something here it's magical and it's rich and it's good and it's a taste of heaven the day will come when there will be no more battle when we will simply reign but it's not yet that's called the hope of heaven and may it come soon but for now men you were born into a battle and the man sitting next to you is in that battle with you and the question for each of us is will we fight will we fight and if we see that if we see that and still say yes Lord I'm in I don't know how I'm gonna get through it I don't know what I will say if I'm brought before kings and have to defend myself but Lord trusting in you I say yes and not just today not just on this weekend not just after a great confession but every single day I say yes so what are some of the obstacles that get in the way of us there's many things that get in the way of saying that yes I want to give you three number-one pride and by pride I mean something specific I don't just mean someone who thinks highly of themselves we all got a mix of that and us some days we think we're great some days we realize we're not I mean a fundamental decision in our lives men of who is Lord am i Lord or is Jesus Lord to whom do you belong we live in an age in which we are told over and over and over again that you yourself are master of yourself and can do anything you want with yourself try not to hurt other people as you do it and don't break any laws but you are master you are Lord you determine who you are what you are what you're for what you want to do why you invent your own reality then it's a lie and it's a myth and it will destroy you you have a world that tells you your little gods well you know the bad news is guys you're a lousy god look back at your own life and ask about your decisions the older I get the more convinced I am I wish I didn't have as much free will as I do i'd prefer last lord don't don't give me those options I don't even want those options so the first thing that gets in our way is who's Lord it's a question you've got to answer because to follow Jesus is not to say Jesus I'm willing to come with you to a certain extent you got some good advice I'll take it some days I'll take all of it but at the end of the day my life belongs to me the Lord will not accept that and it will cost you your joy so at the heart of the choice for discipleship staring in the face the seriousness of the invitation and what it will cost you the first question is am i Lord or is he now let me be clear saying that he is Lord does it mean you lose sponsibility for your life he's not gonna treat you like a child children are beautiful I'm gonna talk about him in a minute it's fun but he doesn't want you to be a child he wants to be a man an adult he wants you to write your history with him he wants to set you up and form you to make decisions in accord with his will and to own your life but he is Lord he sets the direction in he speaks so first decision Lord I am NOT Lord I hand over the reins of my life I will follow say second obstacle man fear you've heard some about this today a number of the speakers have spoken about it I've been able to participate in a lot of the conference because the whole family came first time and I think 14 years my wife has come with me to one of these it's been great fear fear of failure fear of loss of self-control fear of that I'm not gonna be happy if you're suffering fear of inability to follow just fear there's a reason why we hear over and over again be not afraid gentlemen and let me say something to you about courage which is a counter of fear courage is not as a virtue never being afraid of anything there are some things in life we're supposed to be afraid of men a starving lion running after you in the middle of the Savannah is supposed to provoke fear in you if you are not afraid of that something is wrong with you so what is courage men courage is doing the right thing despite the fear it's the standing in front of your child when that lion is roaring and giving up your own life knowing darn well you're scared to death but that the right thing to do is to protect your son so it goes with the call the Lord gave us when the Lord said they will persecute you they will call you before counsels you will be brought before kings you will be scourge because no servant is greater than his master and your master has suffered these things and you will too he's not doing that to scare you he's actually doing that to encourage you because he can say right after that in Matthew 10 which I'm going to end with when I read it be not afraid right after he says all those things he says be not afraid gentlemen there is nothing in this world that can happen to you that can break the love of Christ for you and your ability to love it back nothing and so the greatness to which you are called the highest call in the world to be a disciple which by the way makes any accomplishment in this life look childish any accomplishment in this life next to discipleship looks like winning dodgeball in the 3rd grade it's nothing it's for kids that to win that though it costs everything nothing can prevent you from winning that if you say yes here's the thing about the Christian life men it's the only battle in the world that you win simply by enduring to the end paul says stand therefore considering your enemies considering who you're against stand and in that evil day stand men you are victorious as long as you don't quit and you stay that's not how other battles work battles in the earthly sense your job isn't to just stand there your job is to go kill people in this Christian life stand and you will win and you will reign with him nothing can take that away from you man so though we have fear though we see what we're up against fear doesn't dominate us and it doesn't own us and by the way guys don't like to talk about fear with one another it's worth talking about fear with your brothers I'm just afraid I'm gonna fail man I'm just afraid that this isn't gonna work I'm actually scared of suffering these are the kind of things we need to tell each other and be frank about third challenge this is a specific challenge that I want to walk through with a little bit of time with you men this is a challenge that's particularly alive right now in the culture we're in for a lot of reasons that I won't go into but basically we live in a cultural moment in which it's easy to stay a boy and not become a man they call it extended adolescence and it keeps getting older and older it's in the early 20s now it's in the late 20s and gentlemen I just want to offer a challenge you challenge you today I want to give you a few thoughts take them or leave them but I want to challenge you with a vision of what manhood looks like next to boyhood that you can reflect on because here's the thing if you really are born into a battle which you are if you really are called to a discipleship that will cost you everything so that you gain everything which you are if you really are called to go on mission in this world in which there are real enemies of Jesus Christ and enemies of you the world the flesh of the devil who seek to destroy you which you are and be successful in that battle it's not a battle for boys it's a battle for men so let me give you a few reflections we're just gonna put them in a list of things that I say the difference between a boy and a man by the way boys are great I have a couple three of them one of them's here actually and they're wonderful there's nothing like a little guy running around and doing the kinds of things boys do it's a delight but the purpose of boyhood is not to stay avoid the purpose of boyhood is to grow into a man and so while we may delight in it for a while and find it charming it's inappropriate at a certain point in our lives so let me just give you a little list of things I'm a boys view of the world a boy looks to have fun a boy looks to have fun a man looks to do his duty let's boys do they looked at fun got boys in the house they can't walk around anything round that might possibly bounce and not pick it up and throw it at a lamp they just can't they can't see something worth climbing and it's like oh I could climb that that looks fun charming in your eight-year-old somewhat a man does a man doesn't look at his life and say how can it entertain me he doesn't walk into a meeting like this and say what am I gonna get out of this that's going to satisfy my desire for fun a man walks into a situation and says what is my duty in this situation what needs to be done here and what responsibilities do I have in order to see that it's done it's one of the first things you learn as a parent life ain't about fun it's about survival somehow getting through mass having prayed for 30 seconds as you're chasing kids around and changing diapers and doing whatever gentleman you have a duty the world tells you to have fun that's for children you have a duty doesn't mean you can't have fun you do nothing like hanging out with good brothers nothing like being with your family at certain moments but it's not the way the world is ordered for you duty a boy looks to have fun a man looks to do his duty here's another one a boy is concerned with whether people like him a man is concerned with gaining respect but being respected boys want to know if they're like they walk into an environment they're doing something they're always sort of taking their cues from other boys they walk in they see the game they kind of join it do I fit they look it over the shoulder dad is this kind of where I'm supposed to be it's sweet it's nice it's how they learn how to be sociable it's how they learn how to have gained friends but a man doesn't walk into a situation concerned about whether people like him necessarily I would hope he would want them to but he walks in and he wants to be respected he wants to be taken seriously just as he will take other people seriously and so the fundamental question is well will they like me if I do this the question is will they see that what I am doing is good and honorable so that I may be respected and I may show respect third a boy seeks comfort a boy wants to be comfy that's why boys like little boys they like their blankies and it's neat and I got their stuffed animals or their you and your hotel room have like 75 pillows why I don't know a boy seeks comfort a man seeks to do the good no matter how difficult the man's willing to suffer for the good we live in an age of convenience that would seek to make everything easy for us it can create really bad habits chance oh that light switch is so far away I wish I could just say lights on somehow the human race about 25 years ago lost the capacity to actually roll down a window it was just too hard we had to do a button and now it's car window down the temperature is never quite right gentlemen your life is not about comfort it's about doing the good no matter how difficult a boy is easily forgetful of responsibility easy to forget responsibility a man actually wants responsibility a boys like I don't know I just want to go and have a good time I want to play I want to do my thing Oh was I supposed to do that oh I forgot a little annoying in a boy a little cute sometimes a man actually says give me the ball give me the ball if there's something I can do here I will do it I don't have to have the ball but if I can do it I will do it I will take responsibility we live in an age when people flee responsibility their one responsible for anything even their own commit they don't want to be responsible for men the world is not changed by people who flee responsibility and discipleship is a call to take on a responsibility in the battle for the soul of every human being in the universe you're called to responsibility a boy is quickly discouraged a man is not easily turned aside from his purpose boys quit evening oh I can't do it it's too hard I'll never figure it out that's a boy not a man a man persists until it's done and if you can't do it alone he gets help you don't walk away from responsibility and you stick at it this is particularly important in discipleship because it's hard heck if you've done evangelization you know how hard it is some days you're wondering is anything I'm doing having an impact I get to work with a lot of people who serve in some of the most desperate communities in the world socioeconomically spiritually personally it's the ones who persist to the end who make a difference the ones who quit they come and they go but they don't have an impact a boy is impressed by show a boy he cares what kind of car you drive a man cares about character the kind of man the kind of woman that they meet a boy looks at the outside he wants to have flashy shoes he wants to have the right-sized coat he wants to dress in a snappy casual whatever the heck that is had to look it up I failed yeah not a man a man doesn't ask what a guy looks like on the outside he's not looking at the tails of the peacock he wants to know the kind of person he's encountering this is someone who keeps their word is this someone who can be trusted is this someone who makes a commitment and sticks to it is this someone who takes responsibility seriously such that if I assign them a duty they'll get it done is this someone who if they speak to me they speak from a seriousness of life and an experience that I can actually take what they say to the bank and learn from it because I care about character not show a boy views women as a source of self-indulgence a man looks to protect and care for them you've heard a lot about that here's another thing when looking at spouses a boy would look at a potential spouse as another mother someone who can take care of them and make sure their needs are met and they're indulged a man isn't looking for another mother he's looking for a wife and a partner and someone he can build a life with and can go on the journey of discipleship with someone he can respect and somebody can lay his life down for someone he can stand with in the midst of the tempest sand storms of life and someone he can rejoice with in the joys too many men looking for the wrong thing a boy looks to be praised a man looks to give honor boys like to hear themselves praised they try to earn it they try to do things that's why they show off they want to hear it talked about they start getting honored it's like oh really no keep stopping really no don't say any more nice things about no that's for boys they want to hear they're done good yay what does a man want to do a man wants to see that people are honored for good honor I was so moved by a couple of my dear friends up on stage the other night honoring one of their teachers got her to see my good friends up there honoring their brother that's what a man doesn't man honors he doesn't look for praise for himself when it comes fine she give praise great thank you I appreciate that appreciate the encouragement you don't look for it that's what a boy does a boy whines and complains a man doesn't complains he endures we live in such a whiny culture it's too hot it's too cold you see how long that line was that Pizza stinks that movie was so bad that movie was too long his teachers the worst oh my gosh you have no idea how tired I am I don't care how tired you are I want to know if you're gonna serve with me men and you have a right to ask if I'm gonna serve with you that's the right you have so stop the whining stop the complaining even in fun it can get too thick even in front it's become sort of a cultural habit that's for boys a boy avoids commitment a man treasures commitment it's a sign of your dignity gentleman that you can commit your whole life to something what a radical great thing you can make a gift of yourself to something our culture flees commitment yeah I'll come maybe yeah if there's not something else that I find to do more fun before then I'll commit until I no longer want to commit that's actually not a commitment a commitment is a treasure it's saying my life is so serious and it's such a unique gift that I can give it completely forever a great scene in the movie a man for all seasons about Thomas More maybe you know it he's talking to his daughter Meg in the tower and she says to him dad can't you just take the stupid oath and just not mean it can't you just commit verbally but not really mean it and he has it lying and he says bag a man holds his life in his hands like sand and if he ever loses the fingers he can never get it back Chenin when you hold your life in your hands like sand and you have the ability to by oath and promise give it in its integrity commitments not a burden it's the highest gift you can give it's all you've got and you can give it to cry and through Christ to another human being in marriage and to those whom you love and your children and those you serve don't run from commitment man so boys two final boys are governed by emotions and mood men by truth and by knowing what's good boys they run around it's how they feel on a given day oh I feel like doing this so I'll go do that know if you like nothing so I'm just gonna go sit the first question that a boy asks is how do I feel today cuz that's gonna determine how I behave it's children and it's funny you watch them and they mope and they're happy and they're and you can sort of check their moods charming maybe but not in man a man asks a question what's true and what's good and those are the things I will do every situation you walk into gentlemen the question is not how do I feel about being in a situation that may be an important data point but it's not the most important the simple point is what's true and what is the good that I need to do right now in this situation because I serve it it doesn't serve me I'm not here for my pleasure gentlemen the world doesn't need boys it needs men because you were born into a great battle that will cost you everything so that you may gain everything and I'm looking at a couple thousand men here and I'm thinking what if every one of these guys said yes history is not made by the many it's not made by mass movements doesn't matter how many followers you have on social media history's always been made by the few and what a difference could happen if every man in this room today seeing clearly what they're being invited to understanding that this commitment is not half-hearted said yes Lord I don't know I can't do it on my own I need the brothers beside me to do it with but I'm in I'm in to say yes gentlemen is to experience joy to say no is to walk away sad and I just think the Lord wants you to know what you're choosing and he wants you to choose joy let me end as I promised with a reading from Matthew 10 the words of our Lord behold I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves beware of men for they will deliver you up to councils and flog you in their synagogues and you will be dragged before governors and Kings for my sake to bear testimony before them when they persecute you when they persecute you in one town flee to the next for a disciple is not above his teacher nor a servant above his master if they persecuted me they will persecute you so and here's the line verse 26 have no fear of them for nothing is covered that will not be revealed or hidden that will not be made known what I tell you in the dark utter in the light and what you hear whispered to proclaim upon the housetops and do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell so every one of you who acknowledges me before men I will also acknowledge before my father who is in heaven gentlemen may the day come when you and I are and you and I together all of us everyone in this room are acknowledged by our Lord and Master before our Father in heaven amen thanks Jess [Applause]

Channel: FOCUS Catholic

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Keywords: Catholic, USCCB, jonathan reyes, catholic speakers, catholic content, focus catholic, focus, college catholic ministry, seek 2019, catholic conference

Id: HfAIsf6tOf8

Length: 38min 16sec (2296 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 07 2019