commitment to new TESTAMENT discipleship

!!!Mark 10:17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? 18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. 19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. 20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. 21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. 22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.

!!!!As we contemplate this portion of the passage we -- find some principles that we can all understand and apply today.

!!!!! Here Jesus interacts with a man who runs up to Him and kneels at His feet…….. called a rich young man in Matthews gospel, a ruler in Luke….he is often referred to as the “rich young ruler”.

He asks …verse 17….. what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?……….and Jesus replies…….vs18, 19

18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. 19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.

Ø Full of pride and self confidence he boasts vs 20… all these have I observed from my youth (all the commandments)….. (I have done all the things that are required to )………. “inherit eternal life”.

Because this rich young man had the typical slant of the pharisaical teaching of his day………….(that you could actually fulfill the law and be completely qualified for eternal life)…..

……. he was convinced in his own mind that he had kept all of God’s law…..that salvation was merited on his behavior……..

Ø A point of interest about this narrative is what the parallel passage in Matt 19 says.

Mat 19:20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?

Ø That is probably the question of the ages! (what lack I yet?)………especially as the disciples listened to see what Jesus would say!

And that is important for us to place in the back of our minds…….Jesus disciples were listening in on this conversation………

Ø Then Jesus places some tension on his prideful answer…...and pushes a little bit vs 21

21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

Jesus was calling him to true biblical discipleship……..as Matt 28:19, 20 states in the great commission…..we are to make disciples……..

Ø Remember ….that the young man wanted to know how to inherit eternal life……….the equivalent of asking how he could be sure to get to heaven.

But Jesus did not actually give Him the gospel as we would think of it……..in other words Jesus did not say believe on me………. the work that I will do as the Messiah……if you know the law as well as you say you do you must know that you must believe on the Messiah……

You must repent of your sin and you must believe with all your heart………and you must pray or ask me………..

APPLICATION…..lets make a simple application here……..

Ø If it were us answering the same kind of question this young man posed…..if someone came to us and asked how can I get to heaven……. we would not say……….. sell all you have and follow Christ.

And perhaps that’s the problem…..we have reduced true salvation to a prayer…instead of a commitment to God's requirements in salvation…that is…..to be a true disciple…….

We have reduced true salvation to a prayer…instead of a commitment to God's requirements of “making disciples”…(according to)….Mathew 28:19 and 20….

Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach (Gk literally – to make a disciple) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Ø Jesus said………in answer to his desire for eternal life…….

21 ………. go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

Ø Verse 21.. incorporates what Jesus spoke many times in many ways to those who would seek Him for salvation………and would eventually become His followers….TURN TO MARK CHAPTER 8

Mark 8:34-37 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 35For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. 36For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Ø ……..the verse that is sometimes called…….(the call to discipleship). Please take notice of this verse.

Luke 9:23 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.

AND THEN IN LUKE CHAPTER 14………..

Luke 14:25 And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, 26If 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. 27And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. ………..33So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

YOU REALLY CANT GET ANY MORE EMPHATIC THAN THESE VERSES WHEN IT COMES TO UNDERSTANDING WHAT IT REALLY TAKES TO BE A DISCIPLE OF JESUS CHRIST……

Ø There is a duel train of thought running through these various passages on Jesus appeal to total abandonment…….

…...that is….one is the call to discipleship…….one who comes to know Christ as Savior…..

……And the other is the commitment to discipleship……one who already knows Christ as Savior.

First: the call to true new TESTAMENT discipleship

A. Remember Jesus says to the young man………vs 21…….. One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. …..

1. Jesus already knew what this young man needed to hear and He knew how he was going to respond……

…….the point I want you to see is that….….Jesus was going to confront this young man at the heart level…….

…….to expose the heart issues regarding this rich young mans thinking…..Jesus was going to speak to him at the heart level before offering Himself as the Saviour……….

THE HEART NEEDED TO BE DEALT WITH………

2. Jesus was laying down the criteria for anyone who would come to Him for saving grace……this was a sampling for all that would hear his response…….that to gain eternal life you have to loose your temporal life.

You have to repent, believe and forsake all to inherit eternal life….to be saved….

Repentance is seeing your sin as God sees it…..agreeing with God….and being so repulsed by your sin that you turn from in to God never to return to it again!

Why don’t we see that true biblical salvation is a clarion call to TRUE discipleship…….

Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach (Greek to make a disciple) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

VS 19….WIN THEM OR MAKE DISCIPLES……..VS 20…..TEACH THEM TO OBSERVE….OR TEACH THEM TO COMMIT TO DISCIPLESHIP…..

B. A palatable gospel presentation that does not call a person to commit to God's requirements to become a disciple….. actually absolves the unbeliever from his personal obligation…..

1. What does that mean….”personal obligation”…..it means when someone comes to know Christ they do not come on their own terms………they come on God's terms…

…..and God's terms are complete and total surrender…….WOULD YOU AGREE TO THAT STATEMENT?

NOW IF YOU AGREED TO THAT……YOU ARE IN TROUBLE…….ILL EXPLAIN LATER…..

2. Now notice…..again…..vs 21…….. One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. …..

What does that mean……..to take up the cross, and follow me………

No one in the Roman Empire in New Testament times………. and certainly no one in Palestine………. could have missed Jesus’ point when He said, take up his cross and follow Me…..Jesus was calling this man to total abandonment………..

Illustrate:

Ø During the Roman occupation of Palestine the delicate balance of keeping Palestine under subjection to Rome was sometimes met with Jewish resistance………… Although Rome’s unique way of governing the land included incorporating some toleration of Jewish manners and customs total rule belonged to the Roman occupiers.

In one instance…….only a few years before Jesus spoke those words………, a zealot named Judas had gathered together a band of rebels to fight the Roman occupation forces.

The insurrection was easily quelled, and in order to teach the Jews a lesson, the Roman general Varus ordered the crucifixion of over 2,000 Jews.

It is said that their crosses lined the roads of Galilee from one end to the other. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

Yes……..the Jews knew rather emphatically what the cross represented……. The cross symbolized the extremes of both excruciating pain and heartless cruelty; but above all it symbolized death.

3. What is Jesus saying here? That if you are going to come to Christ and ask Him to be your Savior you must abandon everything……..you must repent……see yourself like God sees you and give your life to Him!

PRINCIPLE:

Ø We could say in the onset of this lesson that the criteria for entering into NT discipleship is…SALVATION……..Total Abandonment……OF SELF TO GOD!

Ø This young man was confronted with the reality of NT discipleship…..TOTAL ABANDONMENT OF SELF…….YOU CANNOT COME TO CHRIST FOR SALVATION AND HOLD BACK ANYTHING!

Ø NOTICE I DIDN’T SAY RECKLESS ABANDONMENT……..I SAID TOTAL ABANDONMENT…….the difference is that reckless abandonment is thoughtless, careless and irresponsible.

TOTAL ABANDONMENT IS PREMEDITATED, THOUGHTFUL - INTENTIONAL – AND DELIBERATE DESIGN……

When a person comes to Jesus Christ they are broken…they are undone….they are without hope…..Eph 2:12….(having no hope)…absolutely and completely void of self and completely and wholly and totally abandoned to Christ…the only hope at that moment….

Ephes. 2:3-5 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

C. So the first section of this passage teaches us an eternal truth about coming to Jesus Christ as personal Savior……..that there are no strings attached…….nothing is brought to the cross that is carried on to the other side………as the old hymn states………”nothing to the cross I bring simply to the cross I cling”

1. Please understand this……..

Let me assure you that we are not dealing with the area of soteriology in that you must do something to be saved………NO! YOU CANNOT SAVE YOURSELF…….. we are not dealing with conditions of salvation……….

………Salvation is not made to depend on the human work of committal to Jesus Christ……WE ARE DEALING WITH THE ATTITUDE OF THE HEART…….WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SOMEONE COMES IN FULL SURRENDER TO THE LORD AT HIS PROMPTING……..

They must come in total abandonment of self….and literally throw themselves at the great mercy and grace of God…….just as the publican declared in Luke 18:13……..”God be merciful to me a sinner”

Our Lord desired to take those who had progressed from curiosity to conviction………. to the place of total and complete commitment to HIM AS THE SOURCE OF TRUE SALVATION.

2. And remember when we said something about those who were listening to Jesus speak to this rich young ruler………

I believe that Jesus response was not only to publically expose the heart issue that would keep this man from fully surrendering to Christ……//…but Jesus answer would open up an opportunity………..that He allowed to come to pass…………..in order to expose the heart of the disciples who were standing around watching what was happening…

3. Jesus was making this call to full surrender a part of the message they were to proclaim to others………….emphasizing Jesus precondition for becoming a disciple……

…....and then…….post salvation discipleship………so that this call is…..pre-salvation…..(what one must do in order to be saved) and post-salvation………….(what one will do now that they are saved)……..

Ø Lets look a little deeper into the parallel thought concerning discipleship………the commitment to discipleship……..we have seen the call to discipleship……..now lets notice………

ii. the commitment of true new TESTAMENT discipleship. Notice vss 23-27

23And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! 24And the disciples were astonished at his words.
But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!
25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

Jesus uses a Hebrew exaggeration…….25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. ……..
to demonstrate the utter impossibility of a person who is committed to their possessions…or committed to living their own lives…..……to ever enter into the kingdom of God……that is enter into heaven……IS ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE.

A. Notice the response of the disciples. vs 26

26And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?

1. Why would they say such a thing……..didn’t it make sense what Jesus had said……..didn’t they do as Jesus commanded the rich man and leave their nets……..their livelihood and follow Jesus……..what made them say such a thing?

The popular Jewish belief was that prosperity was the mark of a good man and a sign of God’s blessing (Psalm 37:25; Proverbs 3:16).

Jesus’ teaching ran counter to the prevailing rabbinical teaching, which gave the wealthy a clear advantage for salvation.

The disciples were….. teasing out the implications and testing His words against their thinking……..

Was not wealth a blessing from God, a reward for being good? If the rich—those who from the disciples’ vantage point seemed to be first in line for salvation—cannot be saved, then who can be saved?

…….no one can be saved … unless God does the saving. Without realizing it perhaps, the bewildered disciples achieved a breakthrough with their good question. .

B. Notice the response from the Lord.

27And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.

1. In answer to the disciples’ question, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus stated the doctrine of salvation in a nutshell. Salvation is impossible with men but possible with God. God alone can save

D. What was Peter’s response?

28Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.

1. In response to Jesus answer to the rich man…….Peter states….paraphrased sounds like this……….we have left all Lord……… does that qualify us….

We came on Your terms, didn’t we?” he said in effect. “Do we thereby qualify for eternal life?

This rich young ruler refused to surrender his possessions and his life to You, and he forfeited the kingdom.

But we forsook our jobs, our families, our friends, and everything else we had in order to be Your disciples.

We have repented of our sins and surrendered to Your lordship……….

…….just as You commanded, we have denied ourselves and taken up our crosses for your sake. DON’T WE QUALIFY!!!

E. What was the Lord’s response to Peter?

1. What is interesting is that Jesus gave no hint of dissatisfaction with the question.

Mark 10:29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, 30But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. 31But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.

It is not a matter of qualifying it is a matter of God giving you………vs 30 shall receive”…..in the world to come eternal life”

2. Now we have come full circle………remember I said…..that it is important for us to place in the back of our minds…that….Jesus disciples were listening in on this conversation……(they heard what Jesus said to the rich young ruler about eternal life)…

….and now they want some answers……..and Jesus engages them……..by agreeing that salvation is a call to discipleship.

Discipleship involves commitment. It involves identification with Christ in His shameful death.
Discipleship involves renunciation of oneself, it involves setting aside one’s own aims, goals, ambitions, desires in life.

It involves sacrifice for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It involves setting aside one’s own will and one’s own rights to his life and acknowledging that Jesus Christ has the right to be obeyed, the right to rule.

Our Lord said that if a man is not willing to forsake all that he has, he cannot be His disciple. Pentecost, J. D. (1996). Design for discipleship

(So) When Christ summoned Peter, James, John and Andrew to be disciples, it meant they must forsake their nets and their boats, and the lucrative fishing business in which they were engaged. They forsook their former lives immediately to become disciples. Pentecost, J. D. (1996). Design for discipleship

application

Ø Lets think about what Jesus is saying again……..in light of Luke 14:23……..lets look through the lens of another parallel verse……..

Luke 14:33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

In other words………..whosoever he be of you who does not renounce his rights to anything that he has — whosoever there be of you who does not recognize the rights of Jesus Christ to all that he has]……. he cannot be my disciple.”

Ø LET ME MAKE A PROPOSITION
In light of the teaching of the Word of God on (NT biblical discipleship), we stand convicted of embezzlement if we are not this kind of post salvation disciple……….

Because true New Testament discipleship……. is based on ownership………….

……. the recognition that God already owns all things, they are His; and any material thing that we have is a trust from Him. It belongs to Him by right of creation and He has entrusted it to us as a stewardship and we are responsible to administer that stewardship for Him.

This requirement was based further on a recognition of the fact that Jesus Christ by His death has purchased us to Himself and we are His, not only by creation, but also by virtue of redemption, a purchase that makes us doubly His……….

………By virtue of redemption, all that we have is His and He does not renounce His rights to it simply because He has entrusted it to us.

1 Cor 7:22-23 For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant. 23 Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.

In the light of the Biblical affirmation that all things are His and are only a trust to us, we come back to our proposition.

We are embezzlers from God if we misuse, if we appropriate for ourselves, if we repudiate His right to dispose of and dispense as He wills anything that He…….has given to us as a trust………..AND THAT MEANS MY LIFE AND ALL THAT I AM AND HAVE……..

The TRUE NEW TESTAMENT DISCIPLE recognizes that everything he has and is……..belongs to God……..

….. to live your life your own way is equivalent to spiritual……..embezzlement……….

Jesus said in Matt 10:37 & 38

Matthew 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

Ø The question you face now……… is not how much you must give to God……. but how much of what you have……..that belongs to God …..will God give you permission to use……. for yourself?

OF WHAT YOU OWN IN A MATERIAL SENSE……….AND OF YOUR SELF IN THE PHYSICAL SENSE (YOUR OWN LIFE)……..WILL YOU RECOGNIZE IS GOD'S………ALL………SOME………OR…….PART……….

AS ONE AUTHOR PUT IT……….a disciple is one who has a consuming passion for the person of Christ, whose heart is set upon the person of Christ, who has an unshakeable confidence in the word of Christ and is completely committed to Christ in service and obedience.

Intellectual assent to His truth, to His doctrine did not make one a full New Testament disciple. Not until one was willing to commit himself, his life, his mind, his heart, his will to that truth and to the person of Jesus Christ could he be called a disciple of Jesus Christ. Pentecost, J. D. (1996). Design for discipleship

Ø IF WE ARE GOING TO SAY THAT IN ORDER FOR SOMEONE TO COME TO CHRIST THEY MUST MEET THIS KIND OF EXPECTATION…..……..THAN WE BETTER BE WILLING TO SAY THAT THIS CALL TO DISCIPLESHIP IS ALL INCLUSIVE………FOR THE REMAINDER OF OUR LIFE IN Christ…….IT IS AN ACT OF THE HEART IN….. PRE-SALVATION…..SALVATION…..AND POST-SALVATION…..

IT IS TRUE NEW TESTAMENT BIBLICAL DISCIPLESHIP…..ALL OR NOTHING ALL THE TIME!

Ø Another practical application is……..or the practical outworking is…….

……. to give the kingdom of God and His righteousness their due place of supremacy, and to keep all other things in strict subordination.

The kingdom first, every thing else second………as Jesus said…….

Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

There is no such thing in scripture as partial devotion…..no model in the N.T. of a disciple being semi-faithful………WHO REALLY OWNS YOU……..ARE YOU AN EMBEZZLER?

application

Ø We can’t really go any further without asking how you demonstrate that in your life………..how do you demonstrate total abandonment in your life! Who sees that in your family…….at your job……..at this church……..the three principle areas of life……….

In what ways……..in what specific areas……..does church and tithing and witnessing and discipling and serving at the local church…….have an optional effect in your life!!……

…….. is it if I got time…….when I am ready I’ll do those things!!

Ø Is your devotion to work…..or some other interests……..more apparent than to church.

Ø To some who are sitting listening thinking that you have done those things…(the attitude of the rich young ruler)….what about your personal inner man relationship with the Lord.

Have you abandoned your own agenda……..future……and plans to the Lord……..have you put self on the cross…(really died to self)....attitudes and thoughts and mindsets to the Lord.

Where in this ministry is the visible manifestation of your discipleship…….are you an embezzler?

Ø What competes in your life between you and your God……..is God in competition with what you want in life……..

Ø Why would TV…….relaxation……..visiting family…..sports……..doing what you want to do…….have to compete with God's appointed time for you to be exposed to truth through preaching and teaching of His Word……..don’t you want full exposure……..isn’t that what it is all about!!!

iii. the compensation of true new TESTAMENT discipleship.

Mark 10:28 Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.

Notice what Peter has said………..”we have left all”……..

But the question really begs of itself…….Given up everything in comparison to what…….really…….Jesus in this passage really puts a major contrast between what they “gave up”……..verses what they would receive in place of their willingness to “give up” everything……….

Mark 10:29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, 30But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. 31But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.

A. The reward of sacrificial living has eternal ramifications.

1. The first thing which strikes one in reference to these rewards, is the utter disproportion between them and the sacrifices made.

The twelve had forsaken their livelihood…….fishing-boats and nets, and they were to be rewarded with thrones…………

and every one that forsakes any thing for the kingdom………….no matter what it may be……. ………….is promised an hundred-fold in return, in this present life………..

how true that is…….in many ways my earthly family rejected my Christianity….. I have relied on and have received a hundred fold more love from my church family…….from the brethren…..as apposed to the rejection of my earthly family……..

AS ONE PAST AND POWERFUL VOICE FOR THE LORD SAID……..

That is perfectly true; you have left all to follow Me’ and having left all to follow me, you have by that process entered into the kingdom of God, wherein you have found far more wealth than you left behind when you entered in……..one house gone, but a hundred doors are open! One brother in the flesh lost; but a thousand brethren in the spirit, whose love is deeper and whose kinship is profounder, gained. …….No man who really enters into the Kingdom, abandoning everything for Christ’s sake, But finds within the Kingdom things far more precious and wonderful,……… than those he has left. Studies in the Gospels Pgs 236, 237. By George Campbell Morgan Google Books

B. The life we have in Christ is Richer - Fuller - Deeper…….as the hymn SWEETER AS THE YEARS GO BY proclaims…….

Sweeter as the years go by, sweeter as the years go by,
Richer, fuller, deeper, Jesus’ love is sweeter,
Sweeter as the years go by.

1. I am asking you to do a little inventory and ask yourself the question in relation to what Jesus has said.

2 Mark reports that Jesus said the person who gives up those things for His sake and the gospel’s “shall receive a hundred times as much now in the present age” Mark 10:30.

29And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, 30But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. 31But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.

3. Jesus makes an astounding promise!

These promises strikingly illustrate the generosity of the Master whom Christians serve.

Christ does not say that they deserve a reward; for we cannot merit any thing from the hand of God; but they shall receive a reward from the free gift of God. Matthew Henry

You see…….the contrast is so stark……..so vivid…….so striking…….. that it should cause us to think……..

Everything that the world offers materially or relationally is temporary………everything in my view should pail in comparison to what is offered by the Lord Jesus Christ………. I must truly and really become a committed disciple……..a TRUE NEW TESTAMENT DISCIPLE

conclusion: let me challenge you today.

Ø In order to become a true follower of Jesus Christ you must forsake all that you have and all that you are for him……and the reward…….the prize…….. is Him!

Ø God is not concerned with the quantity of what you forsake for Him but the motivation - inspiration the stimulation that caused you to forsake the life you live for Him……

Ø HE WANTS YOUR HEART TO FIRST BE WILLING……..AS YOU WERE IN SALVATION…..REMEMBER?

Ø When you see yourself as a bond servant…….when you see that what you have to offer is nothing…….it’s worth and merit is nothing…….that you are commanded………. yea it is your reasonable service to give your all……your life for Christ………..only when you quit counting the cost……then you are really a true NT disciple!!

Ø WHEN YOU SEE YOURSELF AS AN EMBEZZLER….STEALING YOUR LIFE AWAY FROM God………YOU ARE READY TO DO SOME TRUE AND SERIOUS NEW TESTAMENT DISCIPLESHIP.

We see that defined in the statement by Jesus…….

21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

The disciples even though they had trusted Christ as Savoir and did give up there “nets” were still influenced by a lifetime of misleading and misunderstanding of God’s requirement for true discipleship.

Ø HOW HAVE YOU BEEN INFLUENCED…..ARE YOU COMMITTED TO NEW TESTAMENT DISCIPLESHIP?

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