Summary: Jesus said this in Matthew 28:19-20 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing 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." THE WORD "DISCIPLE"... 1. The word "disciple" literally means A LEARNER 2. According to Vine's Expository Dictionary Of New Testament Words, it denotes "one who follows another's teaching" 3. But a disciple was not only a learner, he was also AN ADHERENT 4. For this reason disciples were spoken of as IMITATORS of their teachers. THE GOAL IN BEING A DISCIPLE... 1. Stated by Jesus himself: to be like the teacher – Lk 6:40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher. 2. To be Christ's disciple, then, is to be like Him! 3. According to the apostle Paul, this coincides with God's goal in the redemption of mankind, that they be conformed to the image of His Son Jesus laid down three conditions for discipleship: Luke 9:23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 1. You Must Deny Yourself Deny means: A. to affirm that one has no acquaintance or connection with someone. B. to forget one's self, lose sight of one's self and one's own interests 2. You must Pick Up Your Cross Daily To deny yourself is to die to self and to crucify the flesh 3. You Must Follow Him Following Jesus means: * walking closely after Him *going where He goes * doing what He does * It means making His will your will *It means not creating your own path, but putting your feet into the footprints of Jesus. And His footprints will lead you up Calvary’s hill. 4. You Must Love As Jesus has loved you John 13: 34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Those words of Christ had such a profound impact on the apostle John that he made them his life's message. He repeated it in: 1 John 3: 11 "For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another." As believers in Christ, we have a new God-given capacity to love. The love of Christ is shed abroad in our hearts Romans 5:5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 13:8 Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," "You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. This tells us that love eliminates the necessity of a legal system. Because of love, we simply do not need to live by a set of rules and regulations. Genuine love makes all those rules superfluous. What kind of love marks a true disciple? Jesus said, "Love one another, even as I have loved you." That sets the standard high, doesn't it? Jesus' love is selfless, sacrificial, indiscriminate, understanding, and forgiving. Unless your love is like that, you have not fulfilled the new commandment. If the church existed in that kind of love, it would absolutely overwhelm the world. Unfortunately, that isn't the way the professing church operates. There are factions, little groups, splits, and cliques. People gossip, backbite, talk, and criticize. The world looks, and they don't see much love. So there is no way for them to know whether those who call themselves Christians are real or not. One reason pseudo-Christian cults and false doctrines have so much influence today is that not many Christians are definitive disciples. It is often virtually impossible to distinguish a true disciple from a false one, for there isn't a lot of visible manifestation of God's love. Thus the world doesn't know to whom to go to find the truth. When the average person looks at the spectrum of "Christianity" and all that goes with it, he is baffled. Those around him who claim to be Christians seem to have no identifying marks, and if anything, they often seem to be more lacking in love than in any other character quality 5. You Find a Towel and Serve John 13:12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. 13 "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. 6. You Walk the Talk Luke 6:46 "But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say? 47 Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. 49 But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great." 7. You Produce Fruit John 15:4 "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 "I am the vine, you are the branches ; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing . 6 "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. 7 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 "My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples
