THE FIVE WORDS

The retreat weekend is over. Our conversations have slowed down and we are most likely back at work. The laughs, golf, food, late-night conversations and Bible studies are behind us. We’ve gone home, gone back to getting things “done”, and stepped right back into normal life. But here's the thing about a retreat: The goal was never to have a great weekend. The goal was to let Jesus change the way we live when we get home. That's why I want us to keep coming back to five words from our Men's Retreat.

Five Greek words. Five simple reminders. Five movements that can help us keep following Jesus when the retreat is over.

1. ΠΙΣΤΙΣ — FAITH — “I TRUST Jesus.”

Faith is more than believing that God exists. The Greek word pistis carries the idea of trust, faithfulness and confidence. At the most basic level, following Jesus begins here: I trust Jesus.

I trust Him when I understand. I trust Him when I don't. I trust Him with my family. I trust Him with my future. I trust Him with my failures. I trust Him when the path ahead isn't clear. Faith isn't pretending that everything is going to be easy. Faith is deciding that Jesus is trustworthy even when life isn't. That's where our journey begins.

I TRUST Jesus.

↓

2. ἉΜΑΡΤΙΑ — SIN —- “I recognize what PULLS me away from Jesus.”

We spent time talking about sin because we can't follow Jesus well if we're unwilling to be honest about what keeps pulling us away from Him. The Greek word hamartia is often described as “missing the mark.” But sin isn't just breaking a list of rules. Sin is anything that pulls our hearts away from God's good purposes.

And here's something important: We don't fight sin simply by trying harder. Willpower can only take us so far. If I simply tell myself, “I'm going to do better,” eventually I'll discover that wanting to change and actually changing aren't always the same thing.

We need something stronger than willpower. We need a greater desire. We need Jesus. So instead of pretending our struggles aren't there, we learn to recognize them. What triggers me? What controls me? What do I run to when I'm stressed? What do I use to numb myself? Where am I tempted to find my identity apart from Jesus? What keeps pulling me away from Him?

I recognize what PULLS me away from Jesus.

↓

3. ἈΚΟΛΟΥΘΕΩ — FOLLOW —- “I choose to go where Jesus GOES!”

This may be the simplest definition of discipleship: Follow Jesus. The Greek word akoloutheō means to follow, accompany or go after someone. Jesus didn't simply say: “Believe the right things.” He said: “Follow me.” Following means movement. It means Jesus gets to determine the direction.

Sometimes He leads us toward something uncomfortable. Sometimes He asks us to forgive when we don't feel like forgiving. Sometimes He tells us to serve when we'd rather be served. Sometimes He asks us to step out in faith. Sometimes following Jesus means saying no to something we've always said yes to. But here's the question: Where is Jesus going?

Because that's where we want to go. We may not always know where God is taking us, but we don’t have to. The only thing we are told to do is - follow.

Not where culture tells us to go. Not where our feelings tell us to go. Not where our pride tells us to go. Where Jesus goes.

I choose to go where Jesus GOES.

↓

4. ΠΙΣΤΟΣ — FAITHFUL —- “I keep MOVING FORWARD with Jesus.”

This may be one of the most important lessons for us as men. Following Jesus isn't about one great spiritual moment. It's about what happens after the moment. The Greek word pistos (different than pistis) means faithful, trustworthy, dependable.

In other words: Keep going. As Paul would say “stay strong and finish the fight. There will be good days. There will be bad days. There will be days when you feel close to God. There will be days when you feel distracted. There will be victories. There will be failures. There will be moments when you wonder if you're making any progress at all.

Keep moving.

Faithfulness doesn't mean perfection. Faithfulness means refusing to quit. When you fall, get back up. When you fail, confess it. When you're discouraged, reach out. When you don't know what to do, take the next step. When you don't feel like following, follow anyway. But remember, You don't have to run the whole race today. Just keep moving forward with Jesus.

I keep MOVING FORWARD with Jesus.

↓

5. ΔΟΥΛΟΣ — SLAVE —- “I build my LIFE on Jesus.”

This is where our retreat framework landed. The word doulos is a strong word. It can be translated slave or servant, depending on context. Paul uses this word in Romans 6 to describe a radical change that happens when we belong to Christ.

Romans 6:18 says: “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves of righteousness.”

That sounds strange to our modern ears. We think freedom means nobody gets to tell me what to do. But Paul gives us a different picture. Everybody serves something and each of us can be controlled by our desires like: our anger, addictions, pride, and fear. We are controlled or at least we can become slaves to our money, reputation, our need for approval, our past and, most definitely, our sin.

These are things that can become our masters. But Jesus offers us something completely different. He sets us free from one master so we can belong to another. We don't have to remain slaves to the things that once enslaved us. We get to become servants of Jesus. And that's not slavery in the sense of being used or abused. Jesus is the Master who gave Himself for us.

The freest life is found when we surrender our lives to Jesus. So our goal isn't simply to avoid sin. Our goal is to build our entire life around Jesus. We are to build our marriages on Jesus as we submit to one another. We are to build our families on Jesus as we teach our children about “these things”. We are to center our friendships on Jesus. Our work, money, bodies and time all become objects in our life that need to be built on the foundation of Jesus.

Our decisions and our future will all depend on Jesus - we might as well center those things on him every day. Everything — Everyday! I build my LIFE on Jesus. So What's Next? That's really the question, isn't it? What now? Maybe the answer is found in the five words.

ΠΙΣΤΙΣ — FAITH

I TRUST Jesus.

ἉΜΑΡΤΙΑ — SIN

I recognize what PULLS me away from Jesus.

ἈΚΟΛΟΥΘΕΩ — FOLLOW

I choose to go where Jesus GOES.

ΠΙΣΤΟΣ — FAITHFUL

I keep MOVING FORWARD with Jesus.

ΔΟΥΛΟΣ — SLAVE

I build my LIFE on Jesus.

That's the movement. Trust. Recognize. Follow. Keep moving. Build your life on Jesus. And here's what I hope happens after this retreat. I hope we don't look back at this weekend and say,

“Man, that was a great retreat.” I hope we look back and say, “That was a turning point.”

Because the real measure of a retreat isn't what happened in the room. It’s what happens when:

• we leave the room.
• Monday morning.
• we're tired.
• we're tempted.
• our wife needs us to listen instead of fix.
• our kids are watching.
• nobody is looking.
• we have to make a hard decision.

That's where faith becomes real and that's where following becomes real. We should always remember that that's where faithfulness becomes real. That's where we discover who our master really is.

So Men, Keep Going. Don't lose what God started. Stay in the Word. Keep praying. Stay connected.

And remember to always:

Keep pursuing God.

Keep pursuing life together.

Keep pursuing worship.

Keep pursuing generosity.

Keep pursuing restoration.

And when you stumble—and you will—don't run away from Jesus. Run toward Him. Because this isn't about becoming perfect men. It's about becoming men who keep following Jesus.

Men who trust Him. Men who recognize what pulls them away. Men who follow where He goes. Men who keep moving forward. Men who build their lives on Him.

Five words. One direction. Jesus. Let's keep moving.