“DISCIPLESHIP 101” John 8:31
INTRO – Talk about disciples all the time. Know that Jesus called them from their ordinary lives to begin an extraordinary adventure with Him. Changed their lives forever as a result.
He has done the same thing w/ us. Called us from our ordinary lives to follow Him on an extraordinary adventure called the Christian life. If we will follow Him, our lives will be changed forever. This morning, when we looked at Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit filled the followers of Christ at Pentecost, we saw that their lives were changed forever. When the Holy Spirit came upon them, they lost the option to do nothing.
We, too, have lost the option to do nothing. If we are going to live an obedient life of following Christ, we must be willing to serve Him, no matter what the cost. We must live the life of a disciple – following the Master at all costs and desiring to be more like Him. “Salvation is free…but discipleship will cost you your life” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer).
Are you seeking to walk as a disciple in your life right now? When you hear these verses, does something w/in you cry out in response, desiring for them to be true of you:
- Matt. 16:24-26
- John 8:12
- John 10:2-4
- John 13:34-35
- John 14:23-24
Here are some basic principles that will keep us on the right path as we seek to walk as His disciples today:
I. DISCIPLESHIP MEANS THAT WE WORK, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT WORKS IN US.
A. National Guard has been put on alert, called into active duty.
a. Going to do the work that they are trained and equipped to do.
b. Not going to be easy, but going in obedience to the command and b/c it’s simply the right thing to do.
B. You and I have been called into active duty.
a. The moment we gave our heart to Christ, when we were baptized by the Holy Spirit.
b. Equipped w/ the gifts necessary to work in the Body of Christ.
c. Not always easy, but we do it in obedience and b/c it’s the right thing to do.
d. As we work, the Holy Spirit works in us and through us to accomplish God’s work in the world.
e. If we don’t work, the Body of Christ suffers, we miss out on the blessing, and we will have to deal w/ the consequences of disobedience.
f. “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” – 1 Cor. 12:7
II. DISCIPLESHIP MEANS THAT WE HAVE SUPERNATURAL WEAPONS AT OUR DISPOSAL.
A. All sorts of high-tech weapons available for our military right now.
a. Smart bombs
b. Missiles
c. Infrared equipment
d. Night vision goggles
e. M1A1 Abrams tank
f. All are most advanced of any military in the world.
B. But none of these compare to the weapons that we are available for us to use as disciples of Christ.
a. 2 Cor. 10:4-5 – “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
C. Purpose of these weapons? To make it possible for us to live a life of obedience.
a. “Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.” – 2 Cor. 10:6 MSG
b. Don’t believe the lie from the enemy that you can’t grow, or that you can’t be obedient. You can b/c God has made it possible for you to do it through providing these weapons for you.
III. DISCIPLESHIP HAS TO BE CONSTANTLY MAINTAINED AND PURSUED.
A. Our military guys are able to go at a moment’s notice b/c they are constantly training, maintaining their equipment, their state of readiness, keeping their edge sharp.
a. A slip in readiness or a lowering of the guard for even a moment can mean the difference between life and death for a soldier or for others.
B. The life of a disciple is something that needs to be pursued daily.
a. Daily Bible study
b. Daily prayer
c. Daily Scripture memory and meditation
d. Daily fellowship w/ G
e. Daily worship and service
C. And a slip in our level of spiritual readiness, a momentary lapse in our guard, and we can find ourselves in the middle of temptation and sin in an instant.
a. Recent survey in Discipleship Journal magazine – readers ranked areas of greatest spiritual challenge for them:
i. Materialism
ii. Pride
iii. Self-centeredness
iv. Laziness
v. Anger/bitterness and sexual lust (tie)
vi. Envy
vii. Gluttony
viii. Lying
b. Respondents noted that temptations were more potent when they had neglected their time w/ God, and when they were physically tired. Resisting temptation was accomplished by prayer, avoiding compromising situations, Bible study, and being accountable to someone.
D. “Exercise daily in God – no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever.” – 1 Tim. 4:7-8 MSG
IV. DISCIPLESHIP IS WORTH IT!
A. No matter what the world may say, living the life of a disciple is worth it!
a. It’s worth any sacrifice.
b. Phil. 3:7-14
B. Some people may think it is just too hard to live the life of a disciple.
a. “I can’t get up early in the morning to have my Quiet Time.”
b. “I can’t memorize Scripture.”
c. “I can’t understand the Bible.”
d. “I can’t concentrate long enough to pray.”
C. Living the life of a disciple takes discipline, but it is joy-filled discipline that is worth it!
a. “Godly people are disciplined people. It has always been so. Call to mind some heroes of church history – Augustine, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Bunyan…Charles Spurgeon, George Muller – they were all disciplined people….I’ve never known a man or woman who came to spiritual maturity except through discipline. Godliness comes through discipline.” – Donald Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines of the Xn Life, p. 17
CONCLUSION – Read story of woman who went to a diet center to lose weight. Director took her to a full length mirror. On it, the director outlined a figure and told her, “This is what I want you to be like at the end of the program.” Days of intense dieting and exercise followed. Week after week, the woman would stand in front of the mirror, discouraged b/c her body did not fit the director’s ideal. But she stayed at it, and finally one day she conformed to the longed-for image.
As you and I live the life of a disciple, there will be times that we will get discouraged, thinking we will never make it. But as we stay at it, we will be conformed more and more into the image of Christ, until one day, in heaven, we will be like Him.
