Dare to be a Disciple

“Dare to be a Disciple”

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If I were to ask you to tell me who you are without giving me your name, age, family background, what school you go to, what job you work, or what your title is; what would you say?

If you could use none of those things, how would you describe yourself; who are you?

Hopefully, you would say I am a Christian, a child of God, a disciple of Jesus. That is who I am!

The word disciple, is the most common name for the followers of Jesus in the New Testament, it is used 264 times.

I was in the airport in Atlanta some time back and I saw this guy who looked very familiar to me. I had not seen this guy since I was 16 years old. But I knew his dad, and his brother, so I walked up to him, and said, you're Allen O'Brien aren't you? And he said yes I am.

I said I'm Eddie bumpers, we were next door neighbors growing up, we started talking and talked for a long time, and I had a chance to share the gospel with him. The family resemblance was so obvious I knew who he was; he looked just like his dad!

When people look at us as disciples of Jesus the resemblance ought to be so obvious that people will know that we are children of God, followers of Jesus.

The way I walk, talk, act, and think; ought to be like JESUS. He is my teacher, leader! I am disciple of Jesus Christ! My identity is tied up in Jesus. There should be no way to talk about you and not talk about him! A disciple is someone who knows Jesus, follows Jesus, learns from Jesus and becomes like Jesus. Would you dare to be a disciple? Before you answer to quickly, I must tell you that discipleship is not for the halfhearted, part-time, spare change Christian.

If you’re looking for a lazy-way, easy-way,

Cheat-way to follow Jesus, forget it!

Discipleship is for the serious, committed, and

sold-out! But I want to tell you the rewards outweigh the cost. Yes it cost to follow Jesus; but it costs far more to follow Satan! We need sold-out, on-fire, bold, courageous, serious disciples of Jesus Christ in this dark, dying, decaying world! Would you dare to be a disciple?

If you say yes, I want to be a disciple of Jesus, you must:

1. Put Jesus First!

V:25-26.

Let’s step into the scene, great crowds are following Jesus because he has been performing miracles, he has fed the five thousands, and healed the sick. Jesus is at the height of his public ministry. Thousands were following him!

Jesus stops in his tracks and turns and says to the multitude, V:26-“if any man… The crowds are there, but Jesus is going to speak to individuals.

There may be a crowd here, but Jesus is speaking to you individually. If anyone of you in this crowd wants to be my disciple here is what you must do. You must put me first. You see Jesus wants more than superficial, shallow, surface, halfhearted followers. Jesus demands to be #1; Jesus deserves to be #1! Jesus said to these would-be followers, V:26-“If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

Now this verse has caused people a lot of problems because it appears as if Jesus is telling us to hate the ones we should love the most; but that is not what He is saying.

This same Jesus who also tells us to love our enemies would not turn around and tell us to hate our families. He could not command, “Honor your father and mother, and then demand that we also hate them.

He could not command, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, and then advise you to hate her. Jesus, who so loved little children that “he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them, could not advise their parents to hate them.

The word "hate" here really has the meaning "to love less”.

-"He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of Me."

2,000 years ago, if you gave your life to Jesus, more than likely you had to give up your family especially if you were Jewish. That is true today in certain countries, particularly countries. If a Muslim converts to Christ, he is immediately disowned by his family and often time put to death.

If you are going to be a followers of Jesus Christ, He must be your first love, your greatest love! He will not take second place to anyone or to anything.

I heard about a boy named herb who had been dating a girl named sally. Several times he had asked her to marry him and she would firm say "no". Finally, she came to him and said, "Herb, I am breaking up with you." Herb said, "Sally is there someone else?" She said, "Herb there just has to be”.

There should be no-one else that you love more than Jesus. If you don't love Jesus more than you love your family, you don't love your family as much as you should love your family. The person, who loves Jesus the most, loves others the best.

There is a sacrifice you have to make if you are going to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. He must come first. He must come ahead of family. He must come ahead of friends. He must come ahead of finances.

We must love Jesus Christ so greatly that any other love would be like hate in comparison.

In - "That in all things he might have the preeminence."

Jesus is to be first even above family! In the Bible tells us that the family of Jesus came to get him. They thought he was beside himself; they wanted to take him home. Some of his audience said to him, "Jesus, your family is on the outside and they want to see you."

Jesus looked at his audience and said, "Those who do the will of God, they are my family." Jesus was not being disloyal to his family. But Jesus was saying that there are some times in your life when you submit yourself to a higher call.

Sometimes the greatest enemies of total commitment to Jesus will be the members of a person's own family.

Think about an ungodly father and how he will hinder someone trying to live for the Lord. Think about those Christians that may have a worldly mother that does not want them to live totally for Christ. Think about those who have brothers and sisters who mock and make fun of their commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus must come first. Jesus Christ must be the supreme love of our lives. If you are going to be a disciple for Jesus you must learn that He is your priority.

When Tess and I got engaged I said to her, "I commit myself to love you with all of my heart, but I want you to know Jesus is #1! You will be my #2! But if I love Jesus the way I ought to love Jesus, I guarantee you I'll love Tess the way I ought to love Tess.

Girls, if you find a boy who will put you second to Jesus, you grab hold of him and don't let him get away.

No girl will ever regret being second to the Lord Jesus Christ. We cannot love our family too much, but we can focus on our family too much. We can make them number one instead of Jesus! All other relationships must take second place.

Some of us love our wives, husbands, and children more than we love Jesus.

We really miss the mark when we put their development athletically, intellectually, culturally, artistically, socially before their spiritual well-being.

We fall short when we spend more time in the car in one day shuttling them to games and lessons than we spend in a month praying for their souls.

Disciples are the best lovers of God and of family and friends. Disciples must always be ready to give second place to everything and everyone else.

Jesus is telling us we must love him more than anyone, or anything! Everything else in our lives is to be second-place to Jesus!

Jesus must mean more than our families, our daily work, our pleasures, even more than our life itself. Nothing, no one is to get in the way of our love for Jesus Christ! Putting Jesus first makes us effective, powerful witnesses!

To be a disciple of Jesus, you must:

1. Put Jesus First!

To be a disciple of Jesus, you must:

2. Pick up the Cross!

V:27-“Whosoever does not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple."

Somebody says, "Well, my sickness is my cross." Not unless you got it by serving Jesus. You say, "My mother-in-law's my cross." She may be burden, but she's not your cross. A cross is something that you willingly take up. You don't have to bear it.

Jesus said, "No man takes my life from me. I lay it down of myself."

Somebody asked Dr. A.W.Tozer, "What does it mean to take up your cross?” He said:

· Number one: a man who is crucified is facing only one way.

· Number two: a man who is crucified is not going back. He has said goodbye. It was a one-way trip!

· Number three: he has no further plans of his own."

When you pick up the cross it means death to self, to selfish ambition, to sinful desire, and full surrender to Jesus Christ. If you want to win a popularity contest in this world, don't following Jesus. The world mocked Him and it will mock you. The world scorned Him and it will scorn you. The world rejected Him and it will reject you.

When you gave your heart to Jesus Christ and said, "I will take up my cross," that's the last legitimate, independent decision you ever make. From now on your life belongs to Jesus Christ. You're not your own. You are bought with a price. "When Christ is on the Cross, self is on the throne. But, when self is on the cross, Christ is on the throne."

Salvation means coming to the cross!

Discipleship means carrying the cross!

When a person was put on a cross in those days it was public. When Jesus died on that cross He died publicly. The Lord Jesus was crucified openly in humiliation and embarrassment and ridicule. People spit upon Him and made fun of Him and laughed at Him as they passed by.

The Lord Jesus Christ was crucified on Calvary, it was a public matter.

To pick up the Cross is a public matter!

Somebody says, "I'll be a follower of Jesus, but I am not going to let anybody know it."

Let me remind you what Jesus said in:

-"Whosoever will confess me before men, him will I confess also before my father in heaven"

Joseph of Arimethia was a secret disciple until the cross. When Joseph saw what his Savior did for him publicly on the cross, he boldly came and requested the body of Jesus.

You can’t be a disciple of Jesus in secret. Picking up the cross is a public thing.

Picking up the cross is a painful thing.

You die to yourself, and that is painful.

-“I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live yet not I, but Christ within me and the life that I now will I live by the faith of the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me."

Dying on the cross was a very painful thing! Have you thought about what Jesus Christ endured? Can you imagine the pain our Savior experienced on the cross? Think about the nails that were driven into his hands. Think about the spike that was driven into his feet. Think about the crown of thorns that was crushed down upon his head.

Think about the whip upon his back that lacerated his back. Think of all of the agony, think of all of the pain that Jesus went through.

If you are a disciple for Jesus, there will be times when it will be painful. There will be times when it will hurt. Denying your flesh, bearing the cross, identifying with the shame and suffering of Jesus is painful to our pride.

Discipleship is a series of deaths—perpetual dying. Disciples follow Christ on a path of self-denial, and death to self. Jesus is telling us if we want to follow him then we must carry our cross every day, laying our lives down for him, every day.

The cross you carry yesterday, and denying yourself, will not work for today! You must pick up the cross again today, and died to your flesh, and deny yourself and follow Jesus; it is a daily death!

The very image of the cross reminds us that we have given up any claim to our own lives, and will follow him all the way to death. Whenever we are disrespected at school, or disadvantaged at work, or disowned by family because we take a stand for Jesus, we are bearing our cross. If we claim to follow Jesus then our lives must be patterned after the cross were Jesus died for our sins. Jesus laid his life down on the cross for us; and we lay our life down on the cross for him. Followers of Jesus laid down their life for him and for others.

To be a disciple of Jesus, you must:

1. Put Jesus first.

2. Pick up the cross.

To be a disciple of Jesus, you must:

3. Pay the Price!

V:28-33.

Billy Graham once said "I think the main reason people do not come to Christ is because they do not want to pay the price, but Christ will not compromise and He will not negotiate."

Jesus doesn’t put anything in the fine print when he invites us to follow him. He prints it in big bold letters on the front of the contract. He wants you to know exactly what it cost to follow him.

If you decide to follow Jesus he wants you to know exactly what you are getting yourself into. Salvation is free by the grace of God; but following him will cost us everything we have.

Jesus gives us two illustrations to help us understand what it cost to be a disciple.

1st He's compares the Christian life to building a tower.

He says,V:28-"Which one of you would build a building and not sit down first and count the cost and see if you have enough money to finish it."

Jesus is talking about discipleship. Jesus is talking about building a strong Christian life.

There are some Christians who have left off building their Christian life.

The Christian life is to be like a strong tower. But there is a tremendous cost in building this tower.

Do you know the problem in today? We have too many half-built towers that are causing people to laugh and mock.

Men who have said they were called into the ministry, they're no longer in the ministry. Deacons who are no longer serving as deacons, Sunday school teachers who no longer teach.

Some who used to tithe, you don't tithe anymore. Some who used to be Bible students, you've stopped studying the Bible.

Some who used to be prayer-warriors, but no longer. Do you know what you are? You're a half-built tower. You have not finished the task. Jesus said, "No man putting his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God."

Count the cost in building.

Then Jesus gives the second illustration.

Count the cost in battling. V:31-32“And what king, going to make war against another king, sits not down first, and consultants whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him that comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an ambassador and desires conditions of peace."

When I follow the Lord Jesus Christ, I follow Jesus into battle. There's a war and it is a fight to the death, and you're on one side or the other. You cannot be neutral. So far as the odds are concerned, we're outnumbered. We're the minority. It’s 10,000 against 20,000. That's 2 to 1, except the favor is still on our side because "If God is for us, who can be against us”.

What we need are warriors who are not cowards. Who are you willing to go into the spiritually battle?

Many of us want to be untouched, and unscratched.

Many will not stand up against alcohol because they're afraid it'll hurt someone’s feelings. Many will not witness for the Lord Jesus Christ in their offices because they're afraid it may not be politically correct, or they will be viewed as a weirdo.

We need disciples, who are warriors for Jesus. Our Lord said, "If you don't count the cost when the battle gets thick, what you're going to do is to send out an ambassador to try and make peace with the enemy." Who is the enemy? He is the devil. Do you think you can negotiate with the devil? Do you think you can appease him, or buy him off, or you can come to some sort of a standoff with the devil? Forget it.

General Douglas MacArthur said, "In war, there is no substitute for victory."

In the Christian life there is no substitute for victory over the devil.

Now, if you tried to have a peace treaty with the devil, he's going to beat you. Either you get him or he'll get you, but there's no such thing as neutrality. Retreat is never a command from the Captain of our salvation!

We are in a fight to the finish, the Christian life is not a playground it is a battleground!

Our students go to war every day. They are on a battle ground in their school. For many of you every day on your job is a spiritual battle.

Some of you are fighting a spiritual battle in your home. There is a spiritual war, cultural war being fought in our society for the minds and morals and souls of men and women boys and girls!

Values are under attack, the Bible is under attack!

Don't give up in the battle! We have to be fighters for the Lord Jesus Christ.

And if we will be good soldiers for the Lord Jesus we can win a lot of battles for his glory.

If you want to be His disciples you need to make up your mind to pay the price. We are to follow Jesus until the building is done and the battle is won.

Jesus tells us what happens to our effectiveness when we don't put him first, pick up the cross, and pay the price. V:34-35-Read.

We become good for nothing Christians! But if we want to be salt that is salty for Jesus, then we must be a disciple who put Jesus first, picks up the cross, pays the price. We are the salt of the earth. That means we're to witness. Salt speaks of witness and testimony.

· Salt preserves.

Springfield and the world needs the preserving salt of Jesus Christ.

The problem in America is not the drug dealer, pornographer, Hollywood, liberal media; the problem is saltless saints! The problem is people who will not be disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we need something to arrest the corruption in our land. Do you know what it is? It is salt. Jesus said you are the salt of the earth.

Salt preserves.

· Salt flavors.

Is there something about your life that's different? Can your neighbors see something different about you, or are you just bland and tasteless and flat, and boring with no zest in your life? Why would anybody want to have my faith?

Why would anybody want to be like me if he cannot see a difference in me?

: "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt."

· Salt penetrates.

You can take just a pinch of salt and put it in a jug of water and the whole jug will become salty. Salt penetrates.

It just permeates everything that you put it in. We can't be salt just at church, we don't salt the salt. Jesus didn't say you're the salt of the church. He said you're the salt of the earth.

· Salt makes you thirsty.

Our lives should make people thirsty to know Jesus Christ as their Savior. When people spend time around us, our lives should make them thirsty to know Jesus! We are to share the gospel, and pour on the salt of a spirit-filled life to make others thirsty for Jesus!

Would you dare to be a disciple? The great struggle with being a disciple is we love our life more than we love Jesus.

To be Jesus Disciple we must:

1. Put Jesus First.

2. Pick up the Cross.

3. Pay the Price.

Will you dare to be a disciple?