Discipleship

DISCIPLESHIP By Irene McGough http://www.discipleofjesussite.com

Mat 16:24 Then Jesus said to the disciples, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. Mat 16:25 If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life. Mat 16:26 And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process? Is anything worth more than your soul?

Mat 16:27 For I, the Son of Man, will come in the glory of my Father with his angels and will judge all people according to their deeds.

Following Christ should be all or nothing. We are all called to be His disciples "Christ must be Lord of all or He is not Lord at all." Jesus himself said: "No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Mat 6:24 Jesus said "Anyone who isn't helping me opposes me, and anyone who isn't working with me is actually working against me.” Luk 11:23 There is no halfway place. We can’t hold Christ in one hand and the world in the other. It must be one or the other -- all or nothing. Our faith either means everything to us or it means nothing.Jesus in calling His first disciples said some things which we might find hard to take. Mat 10:37 If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine. Mat 10:38 If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine.

Ask yourself who is your first love? Do you see what Jesus said to the disciples? Mat 4:18 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Mat 4:19 Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matt 4:20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him. Are you a fisher of men, do you take on board the great commission? To the rich young ruler He gave this command, "Come, take up the cross, and follow me" Mark 10: 21. We might well connect this to the call of the disciples when He said, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Let us put a period after the "you" and let the two passages read, "Come, take, follow, and I will make you." Christ-made men are Christ-surrendered men and Christ-transformed men. Consider the three verbs-words of action: 1. Come -- We have to make a change of place Come always means leave. Leave the old life, leave the old places, leave the old habits,

leave the old companions, leave the old ideals, leave the old pleasures, leave the old sins. Before one can come one must leave. That is step number one. 2. Take -- We have to take up something new Instead of pleasure and comfort take up the cross. There are duties and responsibilities in the world as well as rights and pleasures. There is a task to be done that requires sacrifice and toil, but with it come the greatest of satisfaction and the thrill of achievement. 3. Follow -- A Change of Allegiance Before the call my loyalties are to self and Satan. When Christ taps me on the shoulder and I turn around and follow Him, my loyalties are shifted and my allegiance is given to a new Leader and a new life. One is never the same after that tap on the shoulder. It is life's supreme moment. If one rejects, life becomes miserable. If one accepts, life becomes happy. If one spurns the call of Christ, he becomes disloyal to the truth and murders his own best self. If he responds to the call a new day dawns, a new life comes, a new inspiration thrills. 4. The fourth verb is make. "I will make you." Jesus will change you so that your old environment will not be attractive any more. He'll change you so that the habits of old will not control you any more.

He'll change you so that your old companions will not be in a dominating factor in your life any more. He'll change you so that your old ideals will no longer be able to govern you any more. He'll change you so that your old loyalties will not bind you any more.

Luk 14:27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. Denying ourselves means being willing to renounce any so-called right to plan or choose, and to recognize His lordship in every area of life. To take up the cross means to deliberately choose the kind of life He lived. This involves: —Coping with opposition of loved ones. —Coping with reproach from the world. – Forsaking all else for Him if need be, and the comforts of this life. —Complete dependence on God. —Obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit. —Proclaming an unpopular message. —Being lonely. —Suffering for the sake of righteousness. —Enduring slander and shame. —Pouring out one’s life for others. —Death to self and to the world, denial of self. It also involves laying hold of a brand new life, real

life in Jesus! It means finding out the real reason for our existence. And it means eternal reward. We so often run away from a life of cross-bearing. Our minds are reluctant to believe that this could be God’s will for us. Yet the words of Christ “If anyone desires to come after Me” mean that this is the cost of discipleship for each of us, but consider the blessings to follow, and the joy that comes from living close to the Lord. When we meet the Lord on that day to we want Him to say " Well done my good and faithful servant.” So it is all or nothing. What a change is wrought in our lives when we surrender our all to the Lord. The hymn writer expressed the truth of this when she wrote: All for Jesus! All for Jesus! All my being's ransomed powers, All my thoughts and words and doings, All my days and all my hours! It was not until after Pentecost that the disciples started to take the gospel out to the people.

ASK YOURSELF HAVE YOU GIVEN JESUS YOUR ALL? THERE ARE NO HALF WAY MEASURES.