Who were
the disciples?
Followers of Jesus
Spent time with Jesus
Listened to and studied Jesus’
teachings
Obeyed Jesus’ commands
Preached the truth of Jesus
What does
it mean to be discipled?
To be a follower of Jesus
To spend time with Jesus
To listen to and study Jesus’
teachings
To obey Jesus’ commands
To preach the truth of Jesus
Jesus
calls the disciples with these words, “Follow Me.”
Matthew
4:18-22 (NASB)
18 Now as
Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was
called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were
fishermen. 19 And He said to them, “Follow
Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they
left their nets and followed Him. 21 Going on from
there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John
his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He
called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their
father, and followed Him.
Matthew
9:9 (NASB)
9 As Jesus
went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector’s
booth; and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he
got up and followed Him.
The
disciples were willing to follow Jesus because they were seeking something
beyond themselves, an eternal purpose, a transcendent cause.
This
discipleship course is designed to lead you to
Be a follower of Jesus
Spend time with Jesus
Listen to and study Jesus’
teachings
Obey Jesus’ commands
Preach the truth of Jesus
The method
of discipleship will be to read scripture surrounding specific events of Jesus’
teachings and His interactions with the disciples and then to evaluate these in
the context of how they directly apply to our lives and actions today.
Luke
9:23-26 (NASB)
23 And He
was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny
himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 24 For whoever
wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake,
he is the one who will save it. 25 For what is a man profited if he
gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? 26 For whoever
is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He
comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”
“No man is
a fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Jim Elliott
Deny
yourself
This means that you surrender your
personal goals and plans.
Take up
your cross
The cross represents God’s power
of salvation. Our cross is the preaching
of the cross itself.
Follow Me
How
did Christ live? Paul says that we
should be ‘living sacrifices’ in Romans 12:1.
Christ only
receives glory from our lives if we are willing to follow His example. Why is this?
A life that is like that of Christ’s is not natural. It takes work; it is intentional,
proactive, absurd, obscure even.
2 Peter
1:2-11
2 Grace
and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His
divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness,
through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and
excellence. 4 For by these He has granted to
us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become
partakers of the divine nature, having escaped
the corruption that is in the world by lust. 5 Now
for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral
excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your
self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and
in your brotherly kindness, love. 8 For
if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither
useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or
short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.
10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to
make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice
these things, you will never stumble; 11 for
in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.
Week 1 Daily Readings
Monday
Read Leviticus 11:41-47. This obscure passage is a portion of the
Levitical law that God gave to the Israelites.
In this course, we are not going on a physical diet but rather a
spiritual diet. The purpose of the law,
as defined in Galatians 3:24-25 by Paul, is to be a tutor to lead us to Christ
so we can be justified by faith. God
established a standard of perfection, and then provided a beautiful image of
the sacrifice Christ would be for the redemption of His people. Approaching God His way requires humility and
contrition. Consider what it means to be
perfect. Contemplate the standard that
God has placed on us. Thank God that He
has made a way to approach Himself. Pray
that God would open your eyes to your failures and lead you to a deeper walk
with Him.
Tuesday
Read Isaiah 1:10-20. These words are from Isaiah the prophet to
the people of God. He begins by calling
them rulers and people of Sodom and Gomorrah (those are serious insults – see
Genesis 19). Later in Isaiah 64:6, the
prophet says that our righteousness is like filthy garments. Remember that God has established a standard
of perfection, and He made a provision for how to approach Himself. The religious people in this passage focused
on the routine instead of God. The routine
itself is worthless; God is looking for hearts that are inclined to serve
Him. How often do you find yourself
doing things only because you are required to perform them? Serving God should never become mundane. In fact, Paul instructs us in 1 Corinthians
10:31 and Colossians 3:17 and 23-24 to perform every action to God’s
glory. How is your heart and commitment
to serving God?
Wednesday
Read Haggai 1:1-11. Consider what the people of God (Israel) had
decided was most important to them. The
Israelites focused on themselves. Did
their priorities line up with God’s? Do
you really believe that the Israelites actively began ignoring God? In our lives, denial of Christ is a “slow
fade”. Families and nations crumble
slowly by compromising the teachings of Christ.
Eventually, we get to the point of apathy toward the things of God –
just as the Israelites had done. Look at
your life; are you spiritually aware of habits in your life that are offensive
to Christ? Ask God to convict you of
what He wants to change in your life.
Thursday
Read 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. Paul states that we must discipline ourselves
in order to achieve our objectives. In
physical training, there is a specific and generally short-term goal. In the Christian life, our goal is long-term,
so it is much more difficult to plan, discipline ourselves, and
accomplish. In what ways have you viewed
your walk with the Lord as a discipline?
In what ways have you forgotten the long-term goal and splurged on the
Godly habits you need to develop and maintain?
Friday
Read Luke 4:14-22. This passage could be described as the kick
off point of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus says
that He has a specific mandate of the Lord.
Understanding this purpose for Jesus ministry helps us define what Jesus
wanted from us when He said, “Follow me.”
Who are the poor, captives, blind, and oppressed in your world? To be followers of Christ, we must walk His
walk and talk His talk. How are you
preaching the gospel to the poor, proclaiming release to the captives, opening
the eyes of the blind, and setting the captives free? Pray that God would help you see how to work
His purpose in your everyday life.
