Discipleship (1)
Discipleship • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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I Want to Begin By Saying:
As We Study Discipleship, I’m Learning Beside You
This is a Topic that I Feel Woefully Inadequate to Teach on this
I’m Hoping that this Class will Be Very Conversational…
So that We can Learn from One Another & Grow in Discipleship
The Next Thing I Want to Say is:
This is Probably the Most Important Topic We could Ever Study
We’ll See Why After We Define Our Terms…
And Understand What it is that We’re Studying
What is a Discipleship?
What is a Discipleship?
Discipleship = “The Process of Devoting Oneself to a Teacher to Learn From & Become More Like Them”
It’s the Training Process of a Disciple
Disciple = “A Student or Apprentice”
A Disciple Follows His Teacher Wherever He Goes…
And in Whatever He Does
A Disciple is to Become Like the Teacher
Luke 6:40 (LEB)
40 A disciple is not superior to his teacher, but everyone, when he is fully trained, will be like his teacher.
That’s the Purpose/End Goal of Discipleship:
To Become Like the Teacher in Every Way
When a Person Believes the Gospel of Jesus…
(What God has Done, is Doing, Will Do Through Jesus)…
Then They Make the Decision to Become His Disciple
They Choose to Learn from, Follow, Imitate, and Become Like Jesus
“The church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became man for no other purpose.”
~ C.S. Lewis
Another Good Definition of a Disciple is:
“Someone Who is Following Jesus…”
“Being Transformed By Jesus…”
“And is Committed to the Mission of Jesus”
This is Why this May Be the Most Important Biblical Topic
To Be a Transformed, Committed Follower of Jesus:
Is the Purpose of the Scriptures
Is the Purpose of the Gospel
Is the Purpose of Our Very Existence
God Created Us to Live Our Lives Like Jesus
The Way Jesus Lived is the Epitome of How God Wants Us to Live
Yet somehow many have come to believe that a person can be a “Christian” without being like Christ. A “follower” who doesn’t follow. How does that make any sense? Many people in the church have decided to take on the name of Christ and nothing else. This would be like Jesus walking up to those first disciples and saying, “Hey, would you guys mind identifying yourselves with Me in some way? Don’t worry, I don’t actually care if you do anything I do or change your lifestyle at all. I’m just looking for people who are willing to say they believe in Me and call themselves Christians.”
As you work through this material, you should be looking to change. Being a disciple of Jesus means that we are being transformed into His image. God wants to change us so much that it intrigues others. This gives us the opportunity to tell them about the God who is transforming us. Teaching others about Christ is essential to being one of Jesus’s disciples. As we teach others to love and obey Jesus, we are fulfilling His command to make disciples. Your goal should be to train up other followers of Jesus who are even more committed, talented, and equipped than you are. Whether you guide others through this material or use some other means to teach them to be followers of Jesus, make it your goal to spend your life raising up followers who will give everything for the glory of God.
How Do We Turn the “Regular Christian” into a Disciple?
Describe the Regular Christian:
Shallow in Scriptural Knowledge
Bear Minimum When it Comes to Serving
Consumer as it Pertains to Gatherings
Bible Class is Not Discipleship
Great Command & Great Commission are the Summary of How to Be a Disciple of Jesus
How to Make Disciples of Jesus
How to Make Disciples of Jesus
Teach Them the Gospel (What God Did, is Doing, Will Do Through Jesus)
Teach Them Belief, Repentance, Baptism
18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Teach Them to Count the Cost
Not Being Ashamed But Confessing Allegiance
Must Remain Penitent
Must Be Willing to Sacrifice Whatever Hinders Your Following Jesus
As you work your way through this material, you will be challenged to consider what it means to be a follower of Jesus. You will think through what the Bible teaches and its implications for the way you live your life today. Everything you study will be for the purpose of applying it to your life and teaching other people to do the same. But before you set out to teach other people to be disciples of Jesus, you need to examine your heart and make sure you are a disciple.
Read the following words from Jesus slowly and carefully. Understand that Jesus is speaking these words to you. Think about what Jesus is saying and how it should affect the way you approach this material and your relationship with Him. After you have read this section, use the questions below to help you count the cost of following Jesus.
25 Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. 27 “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 “Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 “Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 “Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.
Ask Difficult Questions After the Model of:
“Are You Willing to Give this Up if it Hinders You from Becoming a True Disciple of Jesus?”
Time is the True Currency Today
People would Much Rather Give You Their Money Than Their Time
But Discipleship Takes Time
Biggest Thing to Talk about is Shallow Christianity Vs. True Discipleship
Jesus Dealt with a Lot of People Who Wanted Shallow Discipleship
But He Didn’t Let Them Have it
We shouldn’t Cater to People Today Either
18 Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 21 Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them.
18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea. 19 Then a scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” 20 Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 21 Another of the disciples said to Him, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” 22 But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.”
34 And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 35 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? 37 “For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
25 Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. 27 “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 “Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 “Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 “Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. 34 “Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? 35 “It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”