Discipleship:::

A disciple of Jesus is a learner, a grower, a builder, and a battler. It is someone who wants to be like Him! A disciple is someone who understands that discipleship is a life-long process. It's someone who knows He will meet their every need. A disciple of God shares in Jesus’ life and ministry. This means total commitment & complete surrender to Jesus!


Jesus shows us what total commitment looks like. Total commitment means being willing to give up family,friends & the things of this world to follow Jesus. What Jesus is saying is this: if your attachments to those you love prevent you from loving Jesus completely and committing your whole life to Him, then you must not love them as much as Jesus. It may seem to the world that you hate them, but you just love Jesus more. In your sinfulness you may become attached to others, to the point where your allegiance to Jesus suffers or dies. What is unfortunate is that when loved ones oppose Jesus, or don’t see any need for any attachment to Jesus, usually it is the believer that ends up falling away. A disciple of Jesus will commit to Jesus, no matter what, and will endure the hardship – if there is any.


In your sinfulness you may like your lifestyle; you may like to do what you want, when you want, even if your lifestyle or desires do not match up with your Savior’s. If you can’t love Jesus more than your family, your friends, yourself, or life itself, then you are not worthy to be Jesus’ disciple. Nothing should come before Jesus. You cannot be a disciple of Jesus unless you love Jesus better than anyone or anything in this world. The Lord’s hand-picked disciples are great examples of this truth. They left their boats, their families, their jobs, and more, all to follow Jesus. Jesus never said it would be easy to be His disciple. Jesus Himself was hated by the unbelieving world, and He bore the shame of the cross for you, for me, and for the whole human race. He won for you the forgiveness of sins, and made it possible for you to love Jesus back. He also made it possible for you to become a disciple of Jesus. As they hated Him, they will hate you too. That is the burden of bearing the name Christian. And yet, Jesus comforts us with His encouragement to stay the course b/c the hopes and prospects of eternal life with Jesus will make His “hard saying” become easy.


A disciple’s life is to be a monument to God’s glory. It would be sad if your life remains unfinished and it becomes a monument that is mocked by unbelievers, a stumbling block to believers and unbelievers, and a source of disappointment to Jesus. It would also be sad if you only express half-hearted discipleship. If your heart isn’t in it, you can’t give Jesus your all. There are way too many distractions that can, and will, pull you away from Jesus. It is clear that the resources to build such a monument to the Lord’s glory will not come from you, but from Jesus. I submit that the greatest monument you can construct is that of a fully committed disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. The life of a Christian disciple is one of a battle, not a banquet. Being Jesus’ disciple means you enlisted into God’s army to fight against the three great armies: the devil, the unbelieving world, and your own sinful nature. That is a huge challenge.


Here’s the bottom line! If a person knows the cost of the building or the strength of the enemy, and if he realizes his own weaknesses and inabilities, and if he knows that Jesus can, and will, supply limitless resources, then it is clear that they must surrender themselves completely to the Lord Jesus, who loves them and gave Himself up for him. Jesus will supply all they need to build a life dedicated to God’s glory, and to win the crown of victory!

Your sinfulness prevents you from being a disciple, however Jesus’ gracious work of redemption enables you to be totally committed to Jesus, and you will be able to completely surrender your heart, soul, and mind to Him. He will enable you to be all that He wants you to be. I have noticed that not everyone wants to be totally committed to the Lord and His ministry. Too many members want to remain on the fringe, rather than move forward with Jesus in their commitment and service. You can’t stay where you are and follow Jesus, who is constantly moving forward. He requires you to GO and to get out of your comfort zone. Someone put it this way: either you are a fan or a follower.  

A FAN feels like he is a part of the game, but he never plays in the game. A fan can look like the real thing, but he is not the real thing. A fan can support or not support the team without it costing him anything. A fan can follow his team on his own terms. On the other hand, a FOLLOWER is part of the “game;” he gets “dirty, sweaty, and exhausted” – only to play again. A follower is the real thing. A follower will persevere to the end, because he has invested everything. A follower will follow Jesus on His terms. Remember, there are no fans inducted into God’s Hall of Fame. Be Blessed...Krystal