Discipleship- A Long Journey in the Same Direction!
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. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels. Luke 9: 23-26
INTRODUCTION
The scenario of this scripture is that Jesus begins to announce His death. Peter jumped in and told the Lord that he should not die and the Lord rebuked him stating that he was listening to the devil. You would think that Peter was just trying to save the Lord of this death but what he was doing was trying to stop the plan of God for salvation. What is a disciple? A disciple is a person that not only follows the teaching of his teacher but also imitates his lifestyle. We all imitate someone or something. Some people want to be just like Warren Buffet, or Bill Gates or some other famous person. I think that teenagers want to be like some basket or football star. Some girls want to look like some model or actress. But how many times have you heard someone say they wanted to be like Jesus?
When one chooses to follow Christ, this is not an easy road to embark on. We are constantly being pulled way to follow our desires and our will. God wants us to depend upon Him and follow His example. He does not want us to rely on our own strength, wisdom, or how the world wants us to think and act. He wants to lead. He wants us to ask Him for every area in our life. God is extremely interested in you. However, we live in a culture and mentality that we want instant answers and instant success. We want everything we see on TV and more. We want everything at the speed of a microwave oven. We want instant success, instant discipleship, instant holiness, and instant answers to our prayers. How many people do you know that have many material things but are miserable? Christ stated that if you really want to find yourself it will be through serving others. His way is the way of self-denial and suffering at times. But there is true happiness to be found in giving your life in the service of God serving others. I am not talking about going somewhere special to serve God. Right in front of you there is someone who needs help. There is someone right in front of you who needs your forgiveness and love. Ask God how you can be useful and He will direct your steps. Now tell me, do you love God enough to get off your sofa and serve him?
DISCIPLES FOLLOW JESUS
When we encounter Jesus, we meet a man who calls us to come and die (Mk. 8:34-35). And he calls us to follow him and learn from him (Mt. 4:19, 11:29). It doesn’t matter whether we’re smart or stupid, rich or poor, young or old, Asian, African, or American. The only requirement is that we repent of rebelling against our Creator and cling to him through faith (Mk. 1:15; 1 Thess. 1:9). If we do this, we’re promised forgiveness of our sins and reconciliation to God (Col. 1:13-14; 2 Cor. 5:17-21). Jesus calls us to come and die so that we might live.
Scripture says that those who follow Jesus by faith are known as his disciples. Some suggest that disciples are the “super Christians” who are getting’ it done for Jesus, while Christians are just “normal believers.” Scripture, however, offers no support for this distinction. (See, for example, Mt. 10:38, 16:24-28; Mk. 8:34; Lk. 9:23, 57-62; Jn. 10:27, 12:25-26). We are either following Jesus or we aren’t there is no middle ground (Mt. 12:30).
DISCIPLES IMITATE AND REPLICATE JESUS
At the heart of following Jesus is Jesus’ call to imitate him and replicate him. As disciples, we are called to imitate Jesus’ love (Jn. 13:34), His mission (Mt. 4:19), his humility (Phil. 2:5), his service (Jn. 13:14), His suffering (1 Pt. 2:21) and his obedience to the Father (1 Jn. 2:3-6). Since he is our teacher, we are to learn from him and strive in the power of the Holy Spirit to become like him (Lk. 6:40). This growth in Christlikeness is a lifelong endeavor that is fueled by the hopeful expectation that one day we will see him face to face (1 Jn. 3:2-3).
DISCIPLES HELP OTHERS FOLLOW JESUS
As we follow our Lord, we quickly learn that part of imitation is replication. Having a personal relationship with Jesus is magnificent, but it is incomplete if it ends with us. Part of being his follower is to intentionally help others learn from him and become more like him. As a friend of mine says, “If you aren’t helping other people follow Jesus, I don’t know what you mean when you say you’re following Jesus.” To be his follower is to help others follow him.
Being a disciple that makes disciples happens in two ways. First, we’re called to evangelize. Evangelism is telling people who don’t follow Jesus what it means to follow him. We do this by proclaiming and portraying the gospel in our neighborhood and among the nations (Mt. 28:19-20). We must never forget that God has placed us in the families, workplaces, and circles of friends that we are in so that we can proclaim the gospel of grace to those who are destined to hell apart from Christ. We must help people learn how to begin to follow Jesus.
The second aspect of making disciples is helping other believers grow in Christlikeness. Jesus has designed his church to be a body (1 Cor. 12), a kingdom of citizens and a family who actively build each other up into the fullness of Christ (Eph. 2:19; 4:13, 29). We are called to instruct each other about Christ (Rom. 15:14) and to imitate others who are following Christ (1 Cor. 4:16, 11:1; 2 Thess. 3:7, 9). As disciples, we are to intentionally pour into other disciples so they can pour into still others (2 Tim. 2:1-2).
DISCIPLES INTENTIONALLY BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
Discipleship does not just happen. We need to be intentional about cultivating deep, honest relationships in which we do spiritual good to other Christians. While we can have discipleship relationships anywhere, the most natural place for them to develop is in the community of the local church. In the church Christians are commanded to meet together regularly, spur each other on in Christlikeness, and protect each other against sin (Heb. 3:12-13; 10:24-25).
The discipleship relationships that spring out of this type of committed community should be both structured and spontaneous. When we study the life of Jesus, we see that he formally taught his disciples (Mt. 5-7; Mk. 10:1) while also allowing them to observe his obedience to God as they lived life together (Jn 4:27; Lk. 22:39-56).
In the same way, some of our discipleship relationships should be structured. Maybe two friends decide to read a chapter from the Gospel of John and then discuss it over coffee or a workout at the gym. Maybe two businessmen read a chapter each week from a Christian book and then talk about it on a Saturday walk through the neighborhood with their kids. Maybe two couples do a date night together once a month and talk about what the Bible says about marriage. Maybe a godly older lady has a younger single woman over to her home on Tuesday afternoon to pray and study a Christian biography. Maybe a mom spends time at the park with other moms each week. Regardless of the format, some of our discipleship should involve scheduled times of reading, praying, confessing, encouraging, and challenging each other to become more like Christ.
Discipleship can also be spontaneous. Maybe friends go to a movie together and then grab ice cream afterwards to compare the movie’s message to what the Bible says. Maybe a father and a son sit on the porch and reflect on God’s glory being displayed in a sunset. Maybe you invite visitors from church over for lunch and ask everyone how they came to know Jesus.
We always need to be intentional, but we don’t always need to be structured. In fact, Deuteronomy 6 shows us that discipleship happens “when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (v. 7). Every moment presents an opportunity to discuss who God is and what he’s doing. Since we are always following Jesus, we always can help others follow him as well.
DISCIPLES DEPEND UPON GRACE
While it is true that a disciple of Jesus ought to help others follow Jesus, we must always remember that apart from the sustaining and empowering grace of God we can do nothing (Jn. 15:5). Whether you’re a pastor, a plumber, a policeman, or a stay-at-home parent, you never graduate from your need for God’s grace.
As we follow Christ and help others follow him, we’re constantly made aware that we need grace. We fail. We sin. We struggle. But thankfully, God’s grace abounds to his children. This is good news as we seek to follow Jesus together and daily be transformed into his glorious image (2 Cor. 3:18). May we faithfully follow Christ and help others to do the same until we see his face. Come soon, Lord Jesus!