Discipleship

Discipleship

Disciple means "A pupil or follower of any teacher or school; A follower of Jesus." (Webster). So, a disciple for Christ is one who is willing to follow Christ in every aspect of his or her life. Jesus called his disciples Christians in Acts 11:26 " Thus, a disciple of Christ Jesus is a Christian, a follower of Christ." A disciple is one who is willing to follow Christ. In order to have genuine discipleship you must be willing to follow Jesus. In order to follow the Master we must die to ourselves and follow God with our whole hearts. We have to love the Lord enough to abandon this earth and all of the earthly possessions we have that are only momentary. Christians need to put Christ first in their lives and be willing to forsake or renounce anyone or anything that is not willing to do the same. Once Christians grasp the concept of discipleship and its true meaning of following Christ, then they will be able to become an effective servant for Christ kingdom.

Many people are not able to grasp the concept of discipleship and as a result find themselves trying to serve God and at the same trying to conform to today's society. It is impossible to serve two masters. The earth is a master to some and they are disciples for Satan without even realizing it. Jesus said "No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate one or love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. You can not serve God and man" (Mathew 6:24). It is impossible to cling on to the master and be one of his followers and still grasp on the enticements of this world. Discipleship is about complete surrender and complete surrender is not having God holding one hand while the other hand is holding onto the world. God wants all or nothing. If he is not at the top of your priorities he is at the very bottom, and if he is at the very bottom than you truly are not his disciple.

Discipleship is for everyone who wants it and is able to make the sacrifice. The sacrifice that is required is not hard it is one that will bring peace and assurance of salvation. Jesus speaks of the desire of his heart in Matthew 11:28-30 when he says "come unto me, ALL ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." He wants us all to be his disciples and follow him. This invitation is free and is easy to receive, but many just except the free gift and do not continue the walk.

Jesus warns we cannot be a disciple unless we first count the cost and take a stand for him. The cost is complete submission and dedication to one master. In Matthew 16:24-25 we hear the lord saying to his disciples, " If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosever will save his life he will lose it, but whosoever lose his life for my sake will shall find it." Jesus expects us to put his life above our own and he deserves it because he died for our sins and took the keys of sin and death away from the enemy so that we would have a choice to choose eternal life with him.

A disciple serves the Lord at all times not just when it is convenient. A disciple must remain in his word, Jesus said in John 8:31-32 "If you continue in my word, then you are my disciples; and you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. Walking with Christ hand and hand not looking back is the way that a true disciple lives. A disciple's heart is in a mode of constant prayer. He keeps his heart soft before God and his conscience clear. A disciple also goes and finds others to