sf962 - The Disciples Cross (Luke 9 23)
Luke 9:23
The disciple of Christ is a person who makes Christ the Lord of his or her life.
Luke 9:23 Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
Write in the upper right corner:
Luke 9:23
Deny
Cross
Follow
The disciple’s first commitment is to deny himself
That does not mean to reject your identity but to renounce the self-centered life.
Six disciplines of the Christian life…
1A. Spend Time with the Master
Draw a circle in the center of the page…
The empty circle represents you.
It pictures denying all of self for Christ.
Write Christ in the circle
Christ should fill the entire circle; He is to be the focus of your life.
John 15:5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
Draw the cross around the circle
2A. Live In The Word
Write “Word” and John 8:31-32 in the lower crossbar
John 8:31-32 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
The Word is your food; you can receive it…
By listening to someone preach
By reading it
By studying it
By memorizing it
By meditating on it
By applying it
3A. Pray in Faith
Write “Prayer” and John 15:7 on the upper crossbar
John 15:7 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
The vertical bar represents the Word and prayer which are God’s basic ways of communicating with you.
4A. Fellowship with Believers
Write “Fellowship” and John 13:34-35 on the right crossbar
John 13:34-35 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
Jesus gave us the church as the primary place for fellowship.
5A. Witness to the World
Write “Witness” and John 15:8 on the left crossbar
John 15:8 "By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
Two kinds of fruit
Fruit of the Spirit
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
Fruit of the soul-winner
Psalm 126:6 He who continually goes forth weeping, Bearing seed for sowing, Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, Bringing his sheaves with him.
6A. Minister to Others
Make circular broken lines that move out from the center circle
As you grow in Christ, you reach out to others through all kinds of ministry and service. (Add pointed arrows on the ends of the crossbars)
Living in the Word leads to a ministry of teaching or preaching. (Write teaching/preaching below the cross)
Praying in faith leads to a ministry of worship or intercession (write ministry of worship/intercession above the cross)
Fellowshipping with believers leads to a ministry of nurture to other believers (write ministry of nurture to the right of the cross)
Witnessing to the world leads to a ministry of evangelism (write ministry of evangelism to the left of the cross)
Your witness and your fellowship lead to Christian service to other persons (write ministry of service: John 15:13 above the horizontal bar of the cross)
John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.
Application
The goal of discipleship
2 Timothy 2:21 Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.
Notice that you have…
1 Lord as the first priority of your life
2 relationships: a vertical relationship with God and horizontal relationships with others.
3 commitments: deny self, take up your cross daily, and follow Christ
4 resources to center your life in Christ: the Word, prayer, fellowship, and witness
5 ministries that grow from the four resources: teaching/preaching, worship/intercession, nurture, evangelism, and service
6 disciplines of a disciple: spend time with the Master, live in the Word, pray in faith, fellowship with believers, witness to the world, and minister to others