DISCIPLESHIP

1. What is a
disciple?

A. A "follower
of the teaching" & the Master Teacher:

Mat.10:24,25          The
disciple [should] be as his master             (See
Lk.6:40)

Jn.12:26  If any man serve Me, let him follow
Me

Jn.13:15  I have given you an example, that ye
should do as I have done

1Pet.2:21                Christ
(left) us an example...follow His steps

B. A disciple
abides (lives, dwells) in Jesus:

Jn.15:4    Abide in Me, & I in you

Jn.15:9,10               If
ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love

1Jn.2:6    He that...abideth in Him
ought...to walk as He walked

1Jn.3:24  He that keepeth His commandments dwelleth
in Him

(See
also 2Cor.5:17; 1Jn.2:5,10,24,28.)

C. A disciple
serves Jesus out of love & gratitude:

Jn.14:21,23             If
a man love Me, he will keep My Words

1Cor.6:19,20           Ye
are not your own...for ye are bought with a price

2Cor.5:14                The
love of Christ constraineth (motivates) us

Eph.5:1,2                Be
followers of God...walk in love, as Christ loved us

Phi.1:21  For me to live is Christ, & to die is
gain

(See
also Exo.21:5,6)

D. A disciple must
love Jesus above all else & all others:

Mat.6:24 No man can serve two masters: he will hate one,
& love the other...hold to one & despise the other

Mat.10:37               He
that loveth father, mother, son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me

Lk.14:26  If any man come to Me & [by
comparison] hate not his father, mother, children...he cannot be My disciple

2. A disciple's
job:

A. To win souls
("bear fruit"):

Jn.15:8    Bear much fruit, so
shall ye be My disciples

Mat.4:19 Follow Me, & I will make you fishers of men

Mk.16:15                Go
ye into all the world & preach the gospel to every creature

Lk.9:59,60               Let
the dead bury their dead: but go thou & preach

(See
also Mat.7:20; Rom.7:4.)

B. To train more
disciples:

Mat.28:19               Go
therefore & teach [make disciples of] all nations

Jn.21:15-17             Lovest
thou Me? Feed [teach & instruct] My sheep

2Tim.2:2 Things which thou hast heard...[teach] faithful
men

(See
also Acts 20:20)

3. A disciple
is one who obeys the Master:

Mat.12:48-50         Who
are My brethren?...His disciples...whosoever shall do the will of
My Father...is My brother

Jn.8:31    If ye continue in My Word, then
are ye My disciples

4. Dedicating
oneself totally to the Lord:

A. Abandoning other
pursuits to follow Jesus:

Mat.13:44               Kingdom
is like treasure hid in a field...selleth all that he hath & buyeth that
field

Mat.13:45,46          Found
pearl of great price...sold all he had & bought it

Lk.14:33  He...that forsaketh not all...cannot
be My disciple

B. Forsaking the
pursuit of material possessions:

Mat.6:19,20            Lay
not up for yourselves treasures upon earth

Mk.10:21                Sell
whatsoever thou hast...& take up cross & follow

Lk.12:15  A man's life consisteth not in the
abundance of the things which he possesseth

Acts
4:34,35a        Possessors
of lands or houses sold them, & brought the prices...& laid them down
at apostles' feet

Phi.3:8    Jesus...for Whom I have
suffered the loss of all things, & do count them but dung

(See
also Mat.19:22; Lk.12:33.)

C. Forsaking
worldly & materialistic ambitions:

Mat.6:24 Ye cannot serve God & mammon

Mk.4:19  The cares of this world, &
deceitfulness of riches...choke the Word...it becometh unfruitful

Mk.10:17-25           [Jesus
challenged the rich young ruler to forsake all]

Jn.6:27    Labour not for the meat which
perisheth, but for

2Tim.2:4 No man that warreth entangleth himself
with...this life

Heb.12:1 Lay aside every weight...let us run the
race

(See
also 2Cor.6:17)

5. The decision to
dedicate oneself to Christ as a disciple:

A. Count the cost
first:

Lk.14:27-32            Intending
to build...sitteth down & counteth the cost

Pro.24:6  By wise counsel thou shalt make thy war

B. Burn your
bridges behind you:

1Ki.19:19,21           [Elisha,
deciding to follow Elijah, burned his plow & yoke & sacrificed the
oxen]

(See
also Acts 4:34,37)

C. Be single-minded
& don't look back:

Lk.9:61,62               No
man...looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God

Phi.3:13,14             Forgetting
things which are behind, & reaching forth...I press toward the...high
calling of God

Heb.11:27               (Moses)
forsook Egypt...endured, as seeing Him (God)

D. Some made a sudden
decision to follow:

Mat.9:9   As Jesus passed...He saw Matthew
sitting at receipt of custom: Follow Me. And he arose, & followed Him

Jn.4:35    Say not ye, There are yet 4
months, & then cometh harvest? Look on the fields, they are white already

1Ki.18:21                How
long halt ye...? If the Lord be God, follow Him

Heb.4:7   Today if ye...hear His voice,
harden not your hearts

E. Delay &
excuses can result in never serving God:

Lk.9:57-62              Let
me first go bid them farewell, which are at home

F. Some took more
time to count the cost:

Lk.14:28-30            Sit...down
first, & count the cost

Peter
& Andrew first met Jesus at the Jordan (Jn.1:37-42); They followed Him
back to Galilee (Jn.1:43; 2:1,2); He called them some time later & they then
forsook all to follow Him fulltime (Mat.4:18-22; Mk.1:16-20).

6. Different
ministries of disciples:

A. Being a disciple
does not always mean abandoning all other pursuits:

Mat.27:57               Rich
man...named Joseph, who also was Jesus' disciple

Jn.19:38-40             Joseph
of Arimathaea, a disciple of Jesus, secretly

Acts
9:36,39b        A
disciple named Tabitha [made coats & garments]

(See
also Mk.14:8a)

B. Some disciples
had prominent positions in society:

Mk.15:43                Joseph
of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor (See also Lk.23:50-51.)

Acts
19:31             Certain
of the chief of Asia...were (Paul's) friends

Acts
10:24, 44-48  [Cornelius the centurion,
his relatives & friends]

Rom.16:23              Erastus
the chamberlain of the city saluteth you

C. Sacrificial
giving--a requirement for all disciples:

Lk.8:3      Joanna the wife
of Chuza...& Susana, & many others, which ministered unto Him of their
substance

Acts
11:29             The
disciples, every man according to his ability

2Cor.8:14,15           That...your
abundance may be a supply for their want

1Tim.6:17,18          (Command)
them that are rich...(be) ready to distribute

D. The disciple's
attitude towards those who can't devote their full time to serving God:

Mk.10:21                [Jesus
loved the rich young ruler, even though he didn't forsake all]

Lk.9:49,50               We
forbad him, because he followeth not with us. But Jesus said, Forbid him not.

E. Not all are
capable of or fit to be His disciples:

Lk.8:38,39               The
man...besought Him that he might be with Him: but Jesus sent him away, saying,
Return to thine house (See also Mk.5:18-20)

Jn.6:53-61,66          [Jesus
weeded out weak followers who were there for the wrong motives]

Mat.22:14               For
many are called, but few are chosen

(See
also Jer.12:5 & Mat.13:47,48.)

F. Different
degrees of discipleship:

The
3 innermost disciples (Mk.9:2; 14:32,33); the 12 apostles (Mk.3:13-19); the
"other 70" (Lk.10:1); the "multitude of the disciples"
(Lk.19:37)

7. Discipleship
& family obligations:

A. Putting God's
service even before loved ones:

Psa.45:10,11           Forget
also thine own people, & thy father's house

Mat.10:36,37          He
that loveth [family] more than Me is not worthy

Mat.12:48-50         Who
are my brethren? Whosoever shall do (God's) will

Mat.19:29               Forsaken
houses, brethren, sisters, father, mother, wife, children, lands, for My name's
sake

Mk.1:19,20             James
& John...left their father & went after Him

B. Jesus' call to
utter commitment:

Lk.9:59,60               Suffer
me...to go & bury my father. Jesus said, Let the dead bury the dead

Lk.9:61,62               Let
me...bid them farewell at home. Jesus said, No man...looking back, is fit for
the Kingdom

(See
also Exo.20:3; Mat.22:37.)

8. Discipleship
& "losing your own life":

A. Forsake own
life, plans, ambitions:

Mat.16:25               Whosoever
will lose his life for My sake shall find it

Lk.14:26  If any...hate not his own life, he cannot
be My disciple

Mat.6:21 Where your treasure is, there will your heart
be also

Lk.9:59,61               [Wrong
attitude:] I will follow Thee, but...me first

B. Discipleship--A
life of death to self:

Mat.6:33 Seek first the Kingdom of God

Mat.10:38               He
that taketh not his cross, & followeth after Me

Mat.16:24               If
any man come after Me, let him deny himself

Mk.10:21b              Come,
take up the cross, & follow Me

Jn.12:24  Except a corn of wheat fall into the
ground & die

Jn.12:25  He that loveth his life shall lose it

2Cor.5:15                They
should not live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them

9. The path the
disciple follows:

A. A disciple obeys
God's will & follows:

Num.22:18              I
cannot go beyond the Word of the Lord, to do less or more

Lk.6:46    Why call Me, Lord, Lord,
& do not the things I say?

Lk.14:27  Whosoever doth not...come after Me,
cannot be My disciple

Jn.2:5      Whatsoever He
saith unto you, do it

Jn.8:31    If ye continue in My Word,
then are ye My disciples indeed

Rev.14:4 They...follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth

B. A disciple
humbly submits to his pastors & spiritual overseers:

1Cor.11:1                Be
ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ

1Cor.16:16              Submit
yourselves unto such, & to every one that helpeth with us & laboureth

Phi.3:17  Be followers of me &...them which
walk as ye have us for an (example)

1Thes.1:6               Ye
became followers of us, & of the Lord, having received the Word

Heb.13:7 Them which have rule over you...whose faith
follow

Heb.13:17               Obey
them that have rule over you, submit yourselves

C. Disciples obey
& follow God, even without understanding details:

Jn.21:21,22             What
will (he) do? What is that to thee? Follow thou Me

2Cor.5:7  We walk by faith, not by sight

Heb.11:8 Abraham went out, not knowing whither he went

D. Disciples
willingly adapt & change:

Lk.9:3      Take nothing for
your journey, neither...money

Lk.22:35-36            I
sent you without purse...But now...take it

E. Love other
disciples & work in unity with them:

Jn.13:35  Ye are My disciples, if ye have love one
to another

Phi.1:27  With one mind striving together for
the...gospel

10. The life of a
disciple:

A. Give
sacrificially & be willing to call nothing your own:

Mat.5:42 Give to him that asketh thee...turn not thou
away

Lk.3:11    He that hath two coats,
(give) to him that hath none

Lk.6:30    Him that taketh thy goods,
ask them not again

Acts
2:44,45          And
all that believed...had all things common

Acts
4:32-35          Neither
said any that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; they had all
things common

1Tim.6:7,8              Having
food & raiment let us be therewith content (See also Lk.9:23-26)

B. Disciples must
be willing to endure hardships:

Lk.9:57,58               I
will follow Thee...Foxes have holes, but the Son of man hath not where to lay
His head

2Tim.2:3 Endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus
Christ

(See
also 2Cor.11:23-28)

C. Be willing to
endure persecution:

Phi.1:29  Not only to believe on Him, but also to
suffer

2Tim.3:12               All
that live godly in Jesus shall suffer persecution

Acts
15:26             Men
that have hazarded their lives for Jesus Christ (See also Jn.16:33)

D. Be willing to
literally die for Jesus:

Acts
21:13             I
am ready not to be bound only, but to die for Jesus

Phi.1:20  Christ be magnified...whether by (my)
life or death

(See
also Acts 20:24; Heb.11:35-38; Rev.12:11.)

E. Be zealous &
enthusiastic:

Eccl.9:10a               Whatsoever
thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might

Gal.4:18  It is good to be zealous...always in a
good thing

Rev.3:15 I would thou wert cold or hot

F. An unswerving
continuance in God's Word:

Jn.8:31    If ye continue in My Word,
then are ye My disciples

11. The benefits of
discipleship:

A. Discipleship a
privilege:

Psa.4:3    Lord hath set apart him that
is godly for Himself

Mat.22:14               For
many are called, but few are chosen

Phi.3:14  The prize of the high calling of
God in Christ Jesus

2Tim.1:9 Who hath saved us, & called us with an holy
calling

(See
also Mat.11:25; 13:16,17; Lk.8:10.)

B. Rewards for
serving Jesus:

Mat.10:39               He
that loseth his life for My sake shall find it

Mat.19:27-29         We
have forsaken all, & followed; what shall we have? ...Ye shall sit upon
thrones...receive an 100-fold

Mk.10:28-30           Shall
receive an 100-fold now in this time

Lk.12:33  Sell that ye have...provide yourselves a
treasure in the heavens that faileth not

Jn.12:26b                If
any man serve Me, him will My Father honour

1Cor.2:9  Eye hath not seen...the things which God
hath prepared for them that love Him

(See
also Mat.5:10-12; 16:25,27; Jn.12:25; 2Tim.2:12.)

C. Faithful
overcomers rewarded:

Rev.2:26-28            He
that overcometh...will I give power over nations

Rev.3:21 Him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me

Mat.25:14-29         [The
parable of faithfulness with the talents]

Lk.12:42-44            Faithful
steward...Lord will make him ruler (See also Lk.12:35-38)

Lk.19:12-26            [Parable
of nobleman giving pounds to his servants]

12. Jesus' last
words & prayer for His disciples:

(See
John chapters 14-17; Acts 1:8.)