What a Disciple of Jesus Is

God has been speaking to me about the purpose of the church and the purpose of my life.

I believe based on Scripture, that the purpose of the church and my purpose and your purpose as followers of Jesus is to make disciples.

Matthew 28:18-20
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

In that passage we are given the:
Authority
Command
Scope
How To Do
and
Power
For Making Disciples.

I believe that for us to do that, the church, the people of God, must experience real revival.

But I realized that if my purpose and the purpose of the church is to make disciples and I have been given the command, the authority, the power, the scope, and the how do of making disciples, I still needed one thing. - I need to know what A Disciple Is.

The word disciple means learner or pupil. The root word means to learn by use and practice.

A disciple is one who learns not just by studying something but who takes the knowledge and uses it every day.

The biblical definition of disciple is found in Matthew 4:19. It says, “And He said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.’”

There are three aspect of a disciple contained in that verse.

#1: Follow Me

This is an invitation to follow Jesus. When we follow Jesus it means we come under His authority and direction. The invitation is to follow Jesus and enter into a relationship with Him but not based on how we want to follow. It is based on us submitting our lives completely to Jesus.

We don’t follow a set of values.
We don’t follow a list of rules.
We don’t follow a religious tradition.

We follow a person - Jesus.

In Matthew 9:9 Jesus offers Matthew the same invitation that He offered Andrew, Peter, James, and John - Follow Me.

Jesus gives us the same invitation today.

#2: I Will Make You

Jesus is a living and active God. He transforms us into new people as we follow Him as His disciples. We are changed in our relationship with Jesus. He does that by using prayer, Bible study, the guidance of other believers, and life experiences. These are all directed by the Holy Spirit.

Paul tells us that in Romans 8:29 what God wants to do in our lives. He says, “For those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.”

God wants to change us to be like His Son - Jesus.

#3: Fishers of Men

Fishers of men are people who go out and connect with and share the love of Jesus with others.

Jesus tells us in Luke 19:10 that He came to seek and to save the lost.

A fisher of men is a person who follows the mission of Jesus to seek and save the lost and grow them into new disciples of Jesus.

Jesus invites us to follow Him. A disciple knows and follows Jesus.
Jesus says He will make us. A disciple is being changed by Jesus.
Jesus tells us we are to be fishers of men. A disciple is committed to the mission of Jesus.

So are you are disciple of Jesus?

It does not require:
Perfection
Super Human Faith
Great In Depth Theological Training
Complete Knowledge and Understanding of God
Great Spiritual Insights

It does require:
Faith
Passion
Submission
Humility
Courage

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about being a disciple of Jesus.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about making disciples.

We live in a nation where going to church is easy.
We live in a nation where making a commitment to Jesus is easy.
We live in a nation where calling ourselves Christian is easy.

Most people don’t really have to sacrifice anything to go to church, to read the Bible, to pray or to do anything connected with being a Christian.

If we want to be a disciple of Jesus it will cost.
If we want to be a disciple of Jesus there will be sacrifice.

The cost and the sacrifice is our lives.

When Andrew, Peter, James, John, and Matthew became disciples of Jesus it cost them their lives. They left home and family. They sacrificed security and comfort.

The picture that Jesus draws for us about becoming a disciple in Luke 9:23 is - DEATH.

In Galatians 2:20 Paul says, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

Paul says “I killed the old self who lived for itself and now Jesus lives His live in and through me.”

That is what occurs when we become disciples of Jesus.

Crucifixion is painful; it is called death by torture.

And the old self, what Paul calls the flesh, will not go down easy.

In Galatians 5:24 Paul says, “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with it passions and desires.”

The flesh is not neutral; it has “passions and desires”. The flesh is going to fight. It wants control.

Disciples of Jesus give Jesus control. They make Jesus the sole Authority in their lives.

Over the next several week I want to explore the characteristics of a disciple of Jesus.

As a Disciple of Jesus Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe