"The Meaning of Discipleship" "And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him

deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me" (Luke 9:23) !esus came into the world to make disciples "efore he went on his first mission to do his first miracle, !esus called men to discipleship #n the first day of his pu$lic ministry, which was the day after his $aptism, !esus was %oined $y !ohn, Andrew, and &eter #n the ne't day, he was %oined $y &hilip and (athaniel) and on "the third day there was a marria*e in +ana ,, and $oth !esus was called, and his disciples," (!ohn 2:-,2) .here you ha/e it0 !esus did not $e*in his ministry without disciples "y the time of this miracle, he had already se/eral $elie/ers, $ut !esus was lookin* for more than plain $elie/ers !esus would do his work only with disciples0 (&lease o$ser/e that in this article, I shall refer to $elie/ers as those who fall short of followin* !esus I refer to disciples as those who ha/e a$andoned their schedule to only do what !esus wants ) 1o, $elie/ers in +hrist were all o/er Israel , $ut only disciples followed him and o$eyed him It is a so$er fact of history that !esus did all his work throu*h disciples and none throu*h $elie/ers It was throu*h, and with, his disciples that he ministered to the $elie/in* and un$elie/in* multitudes And when our Lord departed, he *a/e this command to his disciples (not to the $elie/ers who had not entered into discipleship), "2o ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, $apti3in* them into the name of the 4ather and of the 1on and of the 5oly 1pirit " (6att 27:-9 A18) "elie/ers ha/e no authority to teach o$edience $ecause they themsel/es do not o$ey "elie/ers cannot make disciples $ecause they themsel/es are not disciples "elie/ers are not called $y !esus to $ecome missionaries, cell leaders, e/an*elists, or church workers of any kind 99 only disciples !esus did all his work on earth with, and throu*h, disciples 5e commanded his disciples to carry on his work until the end of the a*e How Does a Believer Become a Disciple? In considerin* this :uestion, let us take note of the prere:uisites for discipleship: ;e must first confess our sins, repent of our sins, and recei/e !esus into our hearts ;e must,in short, $e renewed $y the 5oly 1pirit (!ohn 3:3,<) 2 ;e must come to the point of "$lessed dissatisfaction " !esus said, ""lessed =or happy> are they which do hun*er and thirst after ri*hteousness," (6att <:?) ;e will not draw ni*h to 2od if we are satisfied with our reli*ious state ;e will not $ecome mi*hty in prayer unless we are dissatisfied with our prayers ;e will not $ecome holy unless we are dissatisfied with our state of sanctification ;e will not $ecome more compassionate unless we $ecome painfully aware of the hardness of our hearts &aul said, ""rethren, I count not myself to ha/e apprehended: $ut this one thin* I do, for*ettin* those thin*s which are $ehind, and reachin* forth unto those thin*s which are $efore, I press toward the mark," (&hil 3:-3,-@) 1atisfied $elie/ers are the headaches of church leaders, the *rief of the 5oly 1pirit, and a shame to the kin*dom of 2od Aou cannot feed them $ecause they are not hun*ry Aou cannot chan*e them $ecause they ha/e settled into a rut) and you cannot mo/e them $ecause they are dead 5ence, one of the common characteristics of the first fi/e disciples was a "$lessed dissatisfaction " .his caused them to $e on a constant lookout for somethin* $etter, *reater, and holier, that when found, they would follow without one tin*e of procrastination, disre*ardin* any cost to themsel/es What Is Discipleship? Biscipleship is not somethin* you *row into e/entually It has nothin* to do with *rowth0 Biscipleship is a radical decision of the will comin* out of a $lessed dissatisfaction of the heart that understands that nothin* in the world matters $ut the will of 2od .his will lead that person to deny himself and to take up his cross daily to %oyfully follow !esus And since this is not a matter of *rowth, $ut of a decision, you can $ecome a disciple the same day you are renewed in the 5oly 1pirit .hat is e'actly what the first +hristians did "efore the sun had set on them that first day, they had decided to steadfastly continue in "i$le study, in fellowship, in $reakin* of $read, in prayers, ha/in* also decided to sell all their possessions and *oods0 (o one had to plead with these first +hristians to *i/e ten percent of anythin*, for they, from day one on, *a/e one hundred percent of e/erythin* (Acts 2:@@,@<) 6y friend, that is the pattern of discipleship laid down $y the 5oly 1pirit on the $irthday of the church Discipleship Is Abiding in Christ. .he $elie/erCs only sal/ation from spiritual dehydration, from $ecomin* a walkin* reli*ious corpse is discipleship #nly disciples a$ide in !esus !esus said, "I am the /ine, ye are the $ranches 5e that

a$ideth in me, and I in him, the same $rin*eth forth much fruit, If a man a$ide not in me, he is cast forth as a $ranch, and is withered) and men *ather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are $urned" (!ohn -<:<,?) .he 1elf9life cannot and will not a$ide in !esus0 .here is no life outside discipleship, $ut only certain death and impendin*, e/erlastin* disaster Discipleship Means Enthusiasm or !esus. Aou cannot find a dried up disciple any more than you can find a dried up *rape on a healthy /ine, relati/ely speakin* (otice in !ohn - that all the first disciples $e*an witnessin* a$out !esus the same day they met him .his pattern is also repeated in the early church as you can tell $y these words, ".herefore they that were scattered a$road went e/ery where preachin* the word" (Acts 7:@) #ur witnessin* stops when we lose our enthusiasm for !esus, when our intimacy with him ceases Discipleship Means "hat We Abandon #ur $chedules. At the weddin* of +ana , 6ary wanted !esus to sol/e the pro$lem of the wine shorta*e at once "ut !esus said, ",mine hour is not yet come" (!ohn 2:@) see also D:?) .akin* the cross up daily means our *i/in* !esus our time 99 all of our time .ime is life If you *i/e !esus your time, you *i/e him your life Life is time and time is life .o take up oneCs cross daily means to *i/e !esus 2@ hours each day, and each hour consists of ?E minutes, and each minute consists of ?E seconds Byin* daily means *i/in* !esus e/ery second of e/ery day0 Bisciples ne/er say to !esus, "I ha/e other plans,) I ha/e prior commitments,) I donCt want to disappoint my father, my wife, or my friends, etc, " !esus took care of all that when he said, "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and $rethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot $e my disciple" (Luke -@:2?) A disciple will ne/er do anythin* $ut that which is on 2odCs schedule, and *ettin* on 2odCs schedule means *i/in* up ours If watchin* tele/ision is not on 2odCs schedule, a disciple will not watch .8 If *oin* to a $all *ame is not on 2odCs schedule, a disciple will not *o to a $all *ame If shoppin* is not on 2odCs plan, a disciple will not *o shoppin* If attendance at a weddin* of a $rother is not on 2odCs schedule, a disciple will not *o .o *et personal, I left my home country of 2ermany at a*e -9 .hree times people ha/e offered me the finance to *o $ack to /isit my country, $ut it was ne/er on 2odCs schedule until @- years after I left 2ermany "ut, oh, what a wonderful time 2od *a/e us when it was on his schedule0 Bear one, to take up the cross daily means to *o for !esus, to $e on his schedule ?E seconds of e/ery minute Anythin* less is not discipleship "ut, oh, what a $lessin* to ha/e his constant fellowship Discipleship Means Blessings and %ersecutions. After !esus told his disciples how hard it was for a rich man to $e sa/ed, &eter said to him, "Lo, we ha/e left all, and ha/e followed thee" (6ark -E:27) .o this, !esus responded, "8erily I say unto you, .here is no man that hath left house, or $rethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the *ospelCs, "ut he shall recei/e an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and $rethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions) and in the world to come eternal life" (// 29,3E) If the rich man had forsaken all, if he had sold his property and *i/en to the poor to follow !esus, he would ha/e recei/ed houses a hundredfold in this life and e/erlastin* life in the world to come "ut what $linded the rich man to see what !esus had for him was a *reater lo/e for money than for 2od If we ha/e a *reater lo/e for anythin* than for 2od, we are /isually impaired or $linded to see what 2od has for us and how much he really lo/es us Biscipleship *i/es us all these thin*s mentioned plus persecutions, lest we $ecome o/erly e'alted And why are disciples persecutedF It is $ecause the moment they si*n up for discipleship, they $ecome nonconformists, and that always causes di/ision and persecution G/ery disciple is a nonconformist 5e will not conform to the world: its dress, its food, its entertainment, its music, its schedulin*, its /alue system ( Hom -2:2) And disciples will e'perience persecution $ecause the same !esus who $rou*ht a sword of di/ision is now li/in* in them (6att -E:3@) Discipleship Means "hat We Are on the Wa& to $ancti ication. ;e cannot $ecome sanctified prior to discipleship, e/en as we cannot cross an ocean prior to *ettin* into a $oat or aircraft .he process of sanctification only $e*ins in discipleship .he disciples, all the apostles that !esus had called, were unsanctified apostles .hey had en/y, hardness of heart, cowardice, and a re/en*eful spirit 99 yet, they o$eyed !esus in e/erythin* (!ohn -D:?)0 And that led to their sanctification not many days hence Bear one, are you a discipleF BonCt e'pect to *row into it 6ake that conscious decision today to take up your cross, let !esus take o/er your schedule, and you shall en%oy his fellowship fore/er0