Definition of a Disciple...

Dear sisters...

On Sunday my husband brought a sermon to the church family that was like a continuation of the past two weeks of discussion we had in our congregation. Two weeks ago, the brother's heart cry was "what is governing our priorities/are we living the things God wants us to live or are we cramming into life the stuff of greed and selfish living?" while last week the brother's heart cry was to define the kingdom of God and what that means for those who declare themselves to be loyal subjects to the King. This Sunday, my husband pulled the two together by defining a disciple, saying that if we declare ourselves to be in the kingdom of Christ, and if we desire to live our lives on purpose for God, then we must follow the King (be a disciple).

Here is a sketch of what he shared. Maybe it will bless you as you go through the Scriptures and reflect on what is a disciple, and how this applies to your life today.

What a wonderful Savior we serve!

God bless you.
~Marcia

Discipleship

The defining characteristic of any disciple is that they truly follow the one to whom
they profess allegiance. This subject is closely linked to the one ------ brought to us last week on the Kingdom of God. It also is the answer to -------’s sermon from the Sunday before on where priorities are and what governs our choices. If we have crossed over the Great Divide from allegiance to the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of marvelous light, then it is understood and made very clear by King Jesus that we will have His identity in our following of Him.

I would like to discuss the characteristics of a disciple as defined in the New Testament. I would rather let the Holy Spirit speak through Scripture this morning, so I am going to read Scripture with little commenting. I encourage us all to let Him speak to us this morning and to examine our hearts, answering this one question: Am I a true disciple of Jesus Christ?

 

1.      A disciple of Jesus Christ makes Him the focus of their lives, the pivotal aspect of every decision, every word, every deed because of the power of Christ that changes him. Col. 1:12-18 (esp vs 18); 1 Cor. 10:31; Mt. 6:33; Rom. 6:8-16; Gal. 2:20-21; Gal. 5:22-25 (a true disciple reflects the one whom he is following);

2.      A disciple follows the One He professes allegiance to. This he can do because of point 1.

*Mt. 16:24 (it requires total denial of anything fleshly; all must be for Christ, with Christ and because of Christ)

*Mk. 10:21 (nothing must be left for ourselves; all things must be given to Christ to be used for His glory in His Way and in His time)

*John 10:27 (a true disciple knows the voice of the Savior; he doesn’t allow other things to distract him or lure him away from following the true Shepherd; this requires alertness, Holy Spirit discernment and freedom from fleshly lusts)

*1 Pet. 2:21-25

3.      The true disciple joins himself to other true followers wherever he can, being an example of Christ to encourage, convict and bless the household of faith.

            *2 Tim. 2:22 (joining to other believers who are pure in heart)
            *1 Tim. 4:12-16 (an example of the believers)
            * 1 Cor. 13:16-18 (ministering to the saints)
            *Eph. 2:14-22 (Christ is the Cornerstone of the church by which we all can be unified in                           the Spirit)
            *Eph. 6:18 (prayer for the saints)
            *1 Pet. 4:7-11 (using our Spirit given gifts to bless the Body of believers)
            *2 Cor. 6:17-18 (true disciples keep themselves separate from the world and fellowship                          with those who are also true sons and daughters of the Lord)

4.      We don’t like to think of negative things, but the opposite of this is also something Jesus and His apostles taught. Look at a few of the Scriptures that bring this out:

Lk. 14:26-33 (hate here means to love less than Christ); 
Rom. 8:5-9 (it is clear that either we are walking in the Spirit of Christ or we are not; sometimes we get too involved in trying to make everyone fit and feel accepted when we really should be simply walking after Jesus and the natural division will more than likely create what separation from the wolves and tares needs to happen without us being unkind to them; however, we should not make apologies for steering clear of those whom God brings caution to us about)

 

Here are a few questions to take with us this week:

Am I a reflection of Jesus wherever I go, to whomever I speak?
Am I willing to bear the cross even if it means I must give up friendships and family to do so?
Am I willing to truly follow Christ in all things, including following all His teachings? Am I following them?
Is Jesus Christ glorified by my life?
Have I completely yielded my whole life to God? My thoughts, my words, my deeds, my desires, my identity, my dreams, my goals, my hopes?