"Behold, I lay in Zion
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.
Lesson Index
Discipleship Training Course Come… Follow Me!
Lesson 1: Becoming a disciple
Review
1. At some time in your past you were looking for someone to fill the ache inside you. This longing of your heart was not of your making. Jesus said in John 15:16 "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit..."
2. You responded to God's initiative and in turn began to look for Him. You may have tried a multitude of different things before you gave in to Him. Nothing works except responding to Jesus.
3. You came to realise that you had a problem with guilt and that nothing seemed to come to grips with it. It cut you off from the object of your inner hunger. Isaiah 59:2 "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you..."
4. Then you heard about Jesus and the Cross-. You discovered the truth of John 3:16. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
5. "In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise... who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory." Ephesians 1:13, 14
6. Then having believed in your heart, you spoke out your conviction with your voice. Romans 10:9 "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him salvation.
7. You confessed your sin to God and you began to turn away from your old life. You discovered that you were "under new management" - that you were not your own. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."
In this lesson, we shall see...
A. What a disciple is,
B. The four main principles of discipleship,
C. The privileges of being a disciple.
Our objective
is...
to understand our calling to be disciples of Jesus Christ,
to understand the principles of discipleship,
to be aware of the great privileges of our calling
so that we can continue our walk with Him knowing that our lives will be fruitful.
A. What is a disciple?
1. 1 Peter 2:21 "For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:"
Jesus calls people to follow His personal example. Peter says that to follow Jesus is inseparable from His call.
2. John 8:31, 32 "Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
The true disciple abides in Jesus' word. He holds fast to His teaching and lives in accordance with them. The consequence of this is an ever-growing revelation of the truth.
3. 2 Timothy 2:2 "And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
Paul tells Timothy that his responsibility consists in transmitting the things he has learned from Paul to reliable and faithful men who would be competent and qualified to teach others.
4. Luke 6:40 "A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher."
A pupil, or disciple, cannot and should not expect to be superior to his teacher. But his training will readjust and restore him, setting him to rights so that he becomes like his teacher
5. Colossians 3:17 "And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."
The disciple who implicitly follows his Master, abiding in His Word, being taught and having become like his Master, should operate in the authority of his Master, using His Name to accomplish all that He has set him to do.
6. 1 John 2:6 "He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked."
A real disciple has undivided allegiance to his Master. Jesus emphasises the principle that one is not able to put his trust in Jesus and at the same time serve the demands of a materialistic life.
B. The basic principles:
1. Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."
The disciple lives continually by the Word of Jesus. Not an occasional way, but a committed way, where Jesus is Lord of the disciple's life.
2. John 15:4-5 "Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."
A disciple lives in a fruit-bearing relationship with Jesus. This is the way that the Kingdom of God grows. To 'abide' indicates to be 'vitally united to', just as branches are vitally connected to their source of life. Without that vital union with Jesus, our lives will be fruitless.
3. John 13:34-35 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
A disciple is committed to unconditional love for others. In the Greek text the emphasis is on a continued and sustained love. "If you keep on showing love amongst yourselves."
4. Matthew 28:18-20 "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
A disciple is dedicated to witnessing the good news of the gospel.
C. Some privileges of the disciple.
1. Ephesians 1:4-5 "Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,"
Chosen by God, the disciple is predestined to be adopted as a son of God.
2. Galatians 4:6-7 "And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!" Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ."
A disciple is a son and heir of God.
3. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
The disciple possesses eternal life.
4. Acts 1:8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
He will receive power from the Holy Spirit to be an effective, fruitful witness for Jesus.
5. Romans 5:1 "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,"
The disciple has peace with God.
6. Romans 8:38-39 "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Nothing can separate him from his heavenly Father.
Malcolm Vine, Cornerstone Ministries. September 2004.
To contact the Bible School email: bibleschool@cornerstoneministries.org.uk
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