So You Want To Be a Disciple?
Matthew 19:16 – 22
June 19 2011

So you have decided to be a disciple, great. The question that you need to answer is Whose Disciple I will be?

Let’s first take a look at the meaning of Disciple.
Tyndale Bible dictionary
DISCIPLE Someone who follows another person or another way of life and who submits himself to the discipline (teaching) of that leader or way.

Did you catch what it means to be a disciple? SUBMIT
Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary
sub•mit \səb-ˈmit\ verb
sub•mit•ted; sub•mit•ting [Middle English submitten, from Latin submittere to lower, submit, from sub- + mittere to send] verb transitive 14th century
1    a : to yield to governance or authority
b : to subject to a condition, treatment, or operation 〈the metal was submitted to analysis〉
2    : to present or propose to another for review, consideration, or decision 〈submit a question to the court〉 〈submit a bid on a contract〉 〈submit a report〉 also : to deliver formally 〈submitted my resignation〉
3    : to put forward as an opinion or contention 〈we submit that the charge is not proved〉 verb intransitive
1    a : to yield oneself to the authority or will of another : surrender
b : to permit oneself to be subjected to something 〈had to submit to surgery〉
2    : to defer to or consent to abide by the opinion or authority of another synonym see yield — sub•mit•tal \-ˈmi-təl\ noun

Being is Disciple is not an easy task, many people will start down the road of discipleship and drop out along the way simply because they cannot or will not surrender to the rigors of the calling. It simply does not happen because as a person we have been so enthralled with being in control of everything in our lives that we do not want to give up that power.

Listen to these words that are said every day in this country by men and women as they become a very unique and special disciple.

Code of US Military Alligence In the Armed Forces EXCEPT the National Guard (Army or Air)
I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.
By the time a person has said these words they have not only made a verbal commitment, they have also signed their names on the so called dotted line and at that time they are no longer their own, they belong in literal terms to the United States Government. They are at the beck and call of the government, they are told when and how to do everything the governments way.
Jesus says that if you want to become my disciple you must be ready to do the same. The question is; Are you?
Let’s take a look at three individuals that claimed they wanted to be a disciple of Jesus.

1. The Rash disciple.

Luke 9:57
57 Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.”
Matthew 8:18 -19

This individual is described as a scribe; a man of learning and one who generally expounds the law and is usually associated with the Pharisees, enemies of Christ. Yet this one is found in the gathering of people that are following Jesus.

This man had just seen Jesus do some miraculous things and he was totally excited by what was happening, and he wanted to be associated with those abilities. It is much the same way that we today feel when we have been to a high energy event and when people make a plea for help we want to be right in the mix. Our enthusiasm has us on a roll. But listen to what Jesus says to this man.

Luke 9:58
58 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.”
Jesus tempers the man’s enthusiasm, not because he does not want him to follow him, but to make sure that he knows what he is getting into. In simple terms Jesus is asking this man are you willing to live a life of uncertainty. Jesus was saying, that God provided homes and nesting places in which to dwell, but if you follow me, I cannot guarantee you that.

1. The procrastinating Disciple

 

Luke 9:59
59 Then He said to another, “Follow Me.”  But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
In Matthew 8:21 this individual is not a new comer to the crowd of Jesus, here he is already listed as a disciple. Clemens Alexandrinus tells us from ancient tradition that this individual was Philip; he seems better qualified and disposed than the former.

60 Jesus said to him,  “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”

It is possible that this disciples father was very sick or aged and quite possibly dying, so he from a physical stand point not long for this world and as a son it would be his responsibility to bury his father. From a world perspective this kind of request would seem quite reasonable, but it was not right. So why would Jesus use such harsh words?

Jesus was making a distinction that there are two kingdoms involved here; the kingdom of nature and the kingdom of God. In the kingdom of the world, even the most degenerate of people are alive, but in the kingdom of God only the children of God are alive.

Jesus understands the desire of this disciple to bury his father, but Jesus knows that if he is not there to bury him, there will still be enough living dead (those outside of Christ) that will be fully capable of taking care of those duties. As a child of the God, you now have a much higher calling and thus responsibility. As a disciple it is your responsibility to preach life to the spiritually dead.

 

 

1. The wavering Disciple

Luke 9:61
61 And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.”
62 But Jesus said to him,  “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

By the response Jesus gave this man, there may not seem to be much difference between this man and the second man , but if you pay attention to the wording you will see that this man is like the first man, an outsider.

The issue at heart here is not going back to do something in the world but the desire to look back at the world, to not have fully committed to the gospel and Jesus Christ.

The figure of putting ones hand to the plow and looking back was a very vivid one to an agricultural people. Driving a team of animals that was pulling a plow was a very intensive activity. Take your eyes off of the task at hand can affect more than just the quality of the work being done, much like texting and driving today.

Simply looking back for the case of Lot’s wife meant eternal destruction with the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. If Elisha would have been looking back and not see Elijah being taken up he would not have received the double portion.

So how can I overcome the desire of a Rash, Procrastinating or wavering disciple?
Three steps to overcoming
Let’s tie it together in the form of a wheel. All wheels have three basic parts, the rim, the spokes and the hub or center. It is only when all three parts are connected properly are we able to go anywhere.

You can build this rim in two directions, from the rim to the hub or from the hub to the rim. By building from the rim in you look at what you are doing to what gives you the support to what gives you the inner drive.

But I want to look at it from the hub to the rim.

1. Hub

By starting at the hub we first see who is the center of my life, the driving force, as it is from this point that comes are power. So if your life is erratic, has no control  or power, it means that you are most likely in the center, to get  direction and power that we need in our lives we need to place none other than Jesus Christ.
Galatians 2:20
20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

1. The Spokes

We then have four spokes on this wheel, that take the power and turn them into motion.
The bottom vertical spoke we want to insert the words;

1. The Word. This is our foundation our anchor point.

2 Tim 3:16
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

1. Prayer. Directly opposite of the The Word on our Spoke we have the word Prayer. Our communication point

Philippians 4:6 - 7
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

On the left horizontal spoke we want to insert the word; This is our communication level between believers.

1. Fellowship

Hebrews 10: - 24
24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

The final horizontal spoke we want to inert the word

1. Witnessing

Acts 1:8
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.”

The hub and the spokes each by themselves are nothing to the world. Jesus will live within each and every professing Christian and we can have and do all the things of the spokes, but not until they are tied together by the rim does any real action occur.

The Rim
When the rim is attached and the power of Christ through the Holy Spirit moves in and through us we have what is known as An Obedient Christian in Action.
Philippians 4:13
13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Luke 14:25
25 Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, 26  “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. 27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”

Being a disciple in this world will not be the easiest of tasks to do, but than anything worth anything is never easy to accomplish. Jesus only promised that those that overcome will reap the rewards that He is offering.

So I challenge you today, if your life does not seem to have direction or the outlook is uncertain, I ask you to place Jesus in your hubs wheel and let Him give you the power and direction that your life needs.

 

 

3478 Postman’s Confidence
A postman was telling me what a sense of security he felt in his work of delivering the mail. “Why,” he said, “all the resources of the Government are pledged to support me in carrying on my work. If I have only one small postcard in my bag, no man dares to molest me in its delivery. All the Federal police powers of the United States would be thrown into action if necessary to secure the safe delivery of that post card.”
And that led me to think how confidently you and I may set forth with our life, our personality, our equipment, such as it is, to deliver the flaming truth of the Gospel. The Word of our Lord is just as much for us today as it was for the disciples, when he said: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go … and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end” (Matt. 28:18–20).
—Sunday School Times
3479 Under Orders
Dr. Wilder, a dynamic missionary leader in India, was dining with three naval officers. During the course of the conversation one of the officers remarked, “Why don’t these missionaries stay at home and mind their own business?”
Dr. Wilder replied, “Suppose you were ordered to take your battleship to Constantinople tomorrow, would you choose whether to obey or not?”
The officer retorted, “If we are ordered to go, we must go, even if every ship is sunk and every sailor killed.”
“Quite right,” said the missionary. “I have orders from the divine government: “Go and preach the gospel to every creature.””
—Selected