3 Elements of Discipleship (Part 3)

Are You a Disciple of Jesus?: 3 Elements of Discipleship (Part 3) Three Elements Are Required for True Discipleship: 1. Placing God’s Truth into My Head – LEARNING – Pedagogy • • • Matt 11:29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Col 2:6-7 As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. 2. Putting God’s Truth into My Actions – LIVING – Practice • • Matt 28:19-20b "Go therefore and make disciples … 20 "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” 1 John 2:6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. 3. Prioritizing God’s Truth in My Choices – LEAVING – Priorities Luke 14:26-35 If anyone comes to Me and DOES NOT hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. 27 And whoever DOES NOT bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has [enough] to finish [it -- ] 29 lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see [it] begin to mock him, 30 saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' 31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. 33 So likewise, whoever of you DOES NOT forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. 34 Salt [is] good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? 35 It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, [but] men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" Observe Jesus’ “Does Not” Statements: 1. Each statement contains the SAME phrase: “cannot be My disciple.” • • • “cannot concerns ability, not prohibition. “be” concerns activity, not membership. “My disciple” concerns identity with Jesus, not focus on myself. 2. Jesus is not making a rule but stating a FACT. He is not saying “I won’t let you be a disciple,” but “you won’t be able to be a disciple.” 3. These three actions are PRESENT tense, as discipleship is continuous. Discipleship is not completing a task. It is developing ongoing Christdirected attitudes and behavior. Jesus Presents 3 Priorities that Disciples MUST Have: If anyone comes to Me and DOES NOT HATE his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. 27 And whoever DOES NOT BEAR his cross and COME AFTER Me cannot be My disciple. 33 So likewise, whoever of you does NOT FORSAKE all that he has cannot be My disciple. 26 Northridge Baptist Church – Pastor Kevin Subra – May 31, 2020 LEAVING – To Be a Disciple, You Must Change Your Priorities PRIORITY #1: GOD BEFORE ALL _______________________________ (26) …is not hating…is not “being able to be being my disciple.” PRIORITY STATEMENT: God must _______________________ all relationships. a) Following God correctly ________________ my relationship with others. • No other relationship can dictate my walk with God. • I must choose God over any other relationship. • God determines my roles and responsibilities in relationships. b) Following God properly ________________ my relationship with others. • God directs my actions towards others better than I can. • I cannot have a more profitable, more eternal relationship that what God Himself defines. PRIORITY #2: GOD BEFORE ALL _______________________________ (27) …is not bearing his cross and coming after me is not being able… PRIORITY STATEMENT: God must _______________________ all ambitions. a) Following God requires me to ______________ myself – what I say NO to. • Discipleship first requires saying NO to self – dying to self. • Dying to self is an acknowledgement of no right to self-direction. b) Following God clarifies what I ________________ for – what I say YES to. • What commands has Jesus commanded to obey? • What paths has Jesus said to take? • What habits has Jesus directed to develop? PRIORITY #3: GOD BEFORE ALL _______________________________ (33) …is not forsaking all he is possessing is not able to be… PRIORITY STATEMENT: God must ________________ all my material belongings. a) All that I own or can own must be left to God to ____________________. • God must be I control of all that I have (and don’t have). • Nothing can be “reserved” for self. • Money or its pursuit and what it can buy cannot determine my direction. • God has us give “off the top” as one way to put Him first. b) Possessions are not to be target or an anchor, but a _________________. • God directs the use of our money. • God defines our financial methods and goals. • God defines our level of income (and how many incomes). • God defines our optional work hours. • God defines what we give and what we keep. • God defines the right ways to earn money. • God provides what we need.