Deepen your Faith through Discipleship

Introduction

Most of us think that the term “disciple” refers only to the early followers of Christ – A group of men and women who spreads the truth of God’s gospel through evangelism. After all, He still needs disciple which He will use to accomplish exceptional things. God needs people like you.

The True Disciples

Daily Christian living of a true disciple is exciting but sometimes, it is challenging. The walk of a true disciple have a sense of purpose and at the same time, knows direction.

A disciple is defined as a learner, a pupil, one who comes to be taught.

The relationship between the disciple and his teacher is not just a student listening to a lecturer. A disciple listens with attention and intention. Moreover, he or she has a strong desire to apply what has been learned.

The Requirements of Discipleship

In Luke 14:25–35, Jesus laid out the tests and requirements of discipleship. Jesus saw a large crowd gathering. He knew that these people believed and accepted His message in principle. Now He wanted to weed out those who were following Him for the wrong reasons. Some of them wanted to experience Jesus’ miracles, while others came looking for a free meal. A few even believed that He would overthrow Rome and establish God’s kingdom. So Jesus turned to the multitude and preached a sermon that deliberately thinned out the ranks.

Requirement #1: God Over Anyone

“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26).

He actually did not mean that in order to be disciples, we must actually hate family, friends, and ourselves. In this verse, Jesus was using sharp contrasts to make a point. He uses the love of a family as the most noble love that we can have in this world.

Your love for God should be so strong that your love for others is like hatred by comparison.

Our relationship among others have a great impact in the call of discipleship.

In Luke 9, there, Jesus asked someone to follow Him, but the man responds with this excuse: “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” (Luke 9:59)

Right there, a conflict arises. If He is truly Lord, then He is first, not us.

Jesus replied: “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:60)

In this life, you cannot have both harmony into God and into people. But if you choose harmony with God, your conflict with others can make them realized also that they must seek harmony with God, thus, putting Him into the center of your relationships.

There is a Filipino rhyme or a song, which is commonly heard by most people, saying:

“…Ang buhay ng Kristino’y masayang tunay, Amen!…”

Yes, it do, but it is not absolutely true. We, Christians, are also experiencing challenges that test the desire of our heart for Jesus Christ. He wants to be sure that we love Him more than anyone or anything else.

God is still in search for men and women who will be His disciples. I urge you to make that step. If you do, our world will never be the same again.

Requirement #2: Deny Yourself and Bear up the Cross

“And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.” (Luke 14:27).

“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23)

The greatest hindrance to acknowledge God’s plan for us is the attention that we give to yourself. Building up self-confidence as a solution for most of our problem is being taught today by some teachers, and even churches.

The Holy Bible clearly defines that it is the obsession with self that leads to greater society’s problems. (see 2 Timothy 3:1–5).

After all, we already love ourselves. No man had ever hated his body, but he feeds and cares for it.

Jesus did not say that we need to love ourselves (we already do that). He told us to deny ourselves.

The word denial means to repudiate; to disdain; to disown; to forfeit; to totally disregard.

C.S. Lewis once wrote, “The real test of being in the presence of God is that you either forget about yourself altogether or you see yourself as a small, dirty object. It is better to forget about yourself altogether.”

“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it” (Luke 9:24). When you give your ambition, goal and desires to allow yourself to be conformed into the image of Jesus, you will discover His plan and purpose for you.

Bearing your cross means dying to oneself.

Samuel Rutherford said, “The cross of Christ is the sweetest burden that I ever bore. It is a burden to me such as wings are to a bird or sails are to a ship to carry me forward to my harbor.”

“In every Christian’s heart there is a cross and a throne, and the Christian is on the throne till he puts himself on the cross; if he refuses the cross, he remains on the throne. Perhaps this is at the bottom of the backsliding and worldliness among gospel believers today. We want to be saved, but we insist that Christ do all the dying. No cross for us, no dethronement, no dying. We remain king within the little kingdom of Man’s soul and wear our tinsel crown with all the pride of a Caesar; but we doom ourselves to shadows and weakness and spiritual sterility” (A.W. Tozer).

Requirement #3: Forsake all Possessions

“So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:33).

To forsake means to surrender your claim to; to say goodbye.

For instances, consider Jesus’ encounter with the rich young ruler who asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17).

“Jesus answered, ‘You know the commandments: Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not testify falsely. Do not cheat. Honor your father and mother.’ ‘Teacher,’ the man replied, ‘I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was a child.’”

“Jesus felt genuine love for this man as He looked at him. ‘You lack only one thing,’ He told him. ‘Go and sell all you have and give money to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven. Then come, follow me.’ At this, the man’s face fell, and he went sadly away because he had many possessions” (Mark 10:19–22 NLT).

Jesus was not implying that to follow Him, we need be poor in terms of possession. If something else had been on the “throne of his life,” Jesus would have asked and take away him for that.

Requirement #4: Count that Costs

“For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it” (Luke 14:28).

Most people make spontaneous purchases without even considering the cost, or they rush into marriage or a career.

This is illustrated in Luke 9:57–58: “Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, ‘Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.’”

The man in this story seems to have a great admiration to Jesus. He do not hesitate to follow Him. Sadly, he do not count the cost.

The man in this story did not even wait to be called. He hastily volunteered. He seemed to have a good heart, but he was impulsive. No doubt he had been watching Jesus with great admiration, and now wanted to walk with Him. But he had not counted the cost.

The man followed Jesus with his eyes closed, without knowing what lay in his future, but Jesus did.

Jesus is not asking if you will commit 20%, 30%, or 50% to Him. He is asking you to commit everything. Billy Graham has said, “Salvation is free, but discipleship costs everything we have.”

What Is the Cost of Discipleship?

Pay the price for the sins that I may now cherish.
Cling not to a single sin and pretend following Him.
Pay the price of this world’s fellowship. Do not longer allow secular and worldly philosophy to color my thinking and living. “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold” (Romans 12:2 Phillips).
Pay the price of this world’s friendship. I will be laughed at for my convictions, mocked for my beliefs, and scorned for trying to live by what the Bible teaches. At the same time, in place of the world’s friendship, I will have God’s.
Pay the price for the plans of own life.

What Are the Benefits of Being a Disciple?

The disciple is the one to whom God reveals more as that individual drinks in His every Word, marking the inflection of His voice with the desire to obey.
The disciple is the one who lives the Christian life in all its fullness, receiving all God has for him.
To the disciple, each new day is a fresh opportunity to walk with God.
To the disciple, life has definite purpose and direction. It is life abundant.
It costs to follow Jesus Christ, but it costs more not to. If you are settling for anything short of discipleship, you are missing out.

God bless everyone!