High Voltage Shareware/high1.zip/high1/DIR46/ALPHON_2.ZIP/DISCIPLE.F15

Text File | 1992-10-31 | 8KB | 152 lines

WHAT IS A DISCIPLE?                     STUDY NO.15

A disciple is one who through discipline and instruction is
becoming like his master.  In our churches today we have lost much
of the impact of what Jesus taught and what the early Church
understood of what it meant to be a disciple.  A disciple is not
merely a student doing some academic course, gaining a lot  of
knowledge  from  a  professor.  Nobody  can  be  a  disciple
by himself.  The relationship between disciple and master is far
more than just Student and professor.  The master's aim in
discipleship is not so much `you must know what I know' but `YOU
must become what I am'.  It is not so much learning certain
activities or skills but learning how to live. JESUS' life shows
us not only how to make disciples but Also how to be a disciple He
is our best example for both Read Isaiah 50:4-11; John 8:28; 12:49;
14:10; 1 Corinthians 11:1.

Luke 6:40 describes the hope and ultimate goal of every true
disciple of Christ.  "A pupil is not superior to His teacher but,
everyone (when he is) completely trained - readjusted, restored,
set to rights and perfected will be like his teacher". (Amp) If
anyone wants to become a true disciple of Jesus there are certain
conditions that must be met.

WE MUST BE BORN AGAIN

It is possible to be a member of a church but not be a true
Christian, but it is impossible to become a disciple of Christ
without being born again by the Spirit of God.  This commitment is
just the start of a new life following a new Master.  Read John
3:3; 2 Corinthians 5:15,17.

WE MUST BE SUBMITTED TO AUTHORITY

This will be seen first and foremost in coming under the Lordship
of Christ.  We no longer belong to ourselves, but to God.  Many
are willing to submit to God but find it hard to submit to God's
representatives yet this is God's way.  Man is rebellious by
nature and none of us is any use to God until that independent
self-will has been changed and our energy channelled in God's
direction.   It is no accident that the two words disciple and
discipline are so similar.  Read Matthew 10:40; Hebrews 13:7,17.

OUR HIGHEST LOVE IS FOR JESUS

     " 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".  Luke 14:26
     (NASB)
 This does not mean that we should have any dislike in our hearts
towards our relatives, but it does mean that our love for Christ
should be so great that all other loves seem to be hatred in
comparison.  The most challenging question is, 'do we love
ourselves?' Self love is one of the greatest hindrances to true
discipleship.
When we love and admire a person we long to become more like them.
A disciple is one whose relationship with Jesus has top priority.
Relationship with other people will be right if our relationship
with Jesus is right first.

WE MUST DENY OURSELVES

     "And He said to All 'If any person wills to come after Me,
     let him deny himself - that is, disown himself, forget, lose
     sight of himself and his own interests, refuse and give up
     himself' " Luke 9:23 (Amp).
This is more than just denying ourselves certain things such as
food or provisions. It is an attitude of heart that consistently
chooses the way of the master rather than the way we would like to
go.  It is following Jesus' own example of putting aside His own
desires and legitimate rights in order to be completely available
to do the will of the Father.  Self denial will cause us to be
teachable, which is the only pathway to maturity.  This must have
a practical outworking in day to day obedience.  "Why do you call
Me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say?" Luke 6:46 (NASB).  Read
1 Samuel 15:22; Philippians 2:4-8.

WE MUST COUNT THE COST AND CONTINUE

It is very easy to start something, but it is finishing what we
start that really counts.  It costs nothing to become a Christian,
for it is we who receive God's free gift of salvation.  However it
will cost us plenty to walk day by day close to Jesus.  The world
has nothing but contempt for a half-hearted Christian who may have
started well but who has surrendered to the world around him and
is now just like the rest of mankind.  Before making a hasty
commitment to Christ we must consider the cost involved --
everything; all we have and are! Then we must continue in the way
to the end; not looking back but ploughing a straight furrow
toward the goal of being changed to be like the Master.  Read Luke
14:28-32; 9:62; John 8:31; 2 Corinthians 3:18.

WE MUST CHOOSE THE CROSS AND FOLLOW CHRIST

"And let him take up his cross daily and follow Me (that is cleave
steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and if
need be, in dying also)." Luke 9:23 (Amp).  The cross reminds us
of the shame and persecution heaped on Jesus which the world will
heap on all those who choose to stand against the world's
standards and follow in His footsteps.  It is the seed falling
into the ground and dying before it can bring forth any fruit.
Our life must show a burning zeal to obey God in every detail, not
relying on ourselves but dependent on Him in every way.  Read John
12:23-27; 15:20; Hebrews 13:12,13.

WE MUST FORSAKE ALL

     "So no one can become My disciple unless he first sits down
     and counts all his blessings and then renounces them all for
     Me." Luke 14:33 (LB).
This simply means that we must give up all claim to everything we
have.  All things, which we once thought of as ours are now His.
The more this becomes a reality in our lives the less hold the
things of this world will have on us.  As we are seeking first
God's kingdom in this way, He will abundantly supply for all our
needs.  Read 1 Corinthians 6:19,20; 7:31; 1 John 2:17; Matthew
6:33.

RECOGNITION AND RELEASE

The disciple who has committed himself, denied himself received
teaching and obeyed God's orders will one day hear, "No longer do
I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is
doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have
from My Father, I have made known to you", John 15:15 (NASB).
Many times God will require us to obey when we don't really
understand why we should.  But later there comes a time when the
Master will begin to give us responsibility and we won't feel any
more that He has placed us to one side.  Jesus prepared the eleven
for the time when He would no longer be with them so that they
could move into the fulfillment of a disciple's life.  Read John
16:7; Acts 20:20-32.

WE MUST REPRODUCE OURSELVES

     "By this is My Father glorified that you bear much fruit and
     so prove to be My disciples." John 15:8 (NASB).
This is exactly what Jesus Himself did: the seed fell into the
ground and His ministry was multiplied in the lives of His
disciples.  A disciple is one who has had the life and principles
of Jesus formed in his own life and is now fully equipped to
reproduce himself and thus fulfil Jesus' last command, "Go and
make disciples of all nations.  Matthew 28:18-20; 2 Timothy 2:1
Much of what passes for discipleship today is soft and self
serving.  The conditions and course that Jesus laid out for those
who want to follow Him are not only hard but they are impossible!
More than ever before we need to be reminded of Paul's words in
1 Corinthians 15:10, " I am what I am by the grace of God".

THE END