Discip

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Matt. Ch. 4 vs.18- 22
      As Jesus was walking beside the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed Him.
Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zeberdee and his brother John. they were in a boat with their father Zeberdee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediatly they left the boat and their father and followed Him.

Here we have an account of Jesus calling some men to be His disciples.

So we ask the Question, What is a disciple?

Disciples are not just those people who are followers of Jesus Christ.
A person can be a disciple of anyone.        And anyone can have disciples,
A disciple is a pupil,      A student,         Someone who attaches him or herself to a particular teaching and freely accepts to be a disciple.
I purposefully use the word attaches, because a loose association is not true Discipleship.
In scripture we read of many disciples, but they are not all disciples of Christ.

The Greeks Had Disciples who were in fact.
     Disciples of:       Philosophy,   A people fond of Discussion & Conferences,
An interchanging of views & ideas,   A sharing of views on any subject,
and as such, one persons view would be as valid as anyone else's.
Their discussions would cover many subjects.
Abstract opinions, Beliefs, & Persuasions.

And then there were.
    Disciples of Moses:
To be a disciple of Moses was to be
A Discipleship of:   A Principle,    which was Dictatorial.
There was a Fundamental rule of law,     A minimum standard was set,
A basic 10 commands to be observed,     This would be 'The Law' for these disciples.
'The Law' was the thing,    It was Essential,    It was vital that it was kept,
It was an indispensable Doctrine.

And then we get
   The Disciples of the Pharisees. This entailed
A Discipleship of:    Procedures
A Plan is needed to achieve a given end
Rules again are essential, - Certain Criteria are Mandatory,   and a duty.
There is a standard to be adhered to,   A standard which can be added to as and when further study of the law deemed it necessary.

There were also
   Disciples of John the Baptist.
This was a Discipleship of protest.
Of Challenge,    A Defiance of the established order.     Demanding a repentance from its corrupt nature.

But,
   Disciples of Christ.
      Have a much different emphasis.
This is a Discipleship of:     A Person
Not a disciple of a particular teaching but of a person
A disciple of Christ is called not only to follow.      But to belong to.     To follow an example that was shown.

In
John Ch. 17 v 6 and v 21   Jesus prayed to his father in heaven for His disciples.
     "I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word" - - - -
- - - - - - -"Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may Believe that you have sent me."

And in
Matt. Ch. 11 v 28-29 We read Jesus saying
     "Come unto me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, For I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls"

Take MY YOKE upon you.

When oxen are yoked together it is impossible for one to go its own way.     When a farmer puts his yoke on an animal it is completely under his control.

In
John Ch. 6 vs. 28 - 29
    When the people asked. "What must we do to do the works God requires"
Jesus answered. " The work of God is this: To believe in the one He has sent."

The very first thing we need to learn if we consider ourselves to be a true disciple is to believe implicitly the teaching of the Master.
      Remembering that we come of our own free will.

To truly believe,   is to be able to say with the apostle Paul.
Rom. Ch. 3 v 4    " Let God be true and every man a liar"

Accepting Gods word as truth is paramount. Once we allow anyone or anything to question   The word of God    (whether it be in words or actions )   we are not being a true disciple.
    If we are one with Christ we should speak His word with authority

In
Acts 9 v.29
      We are told that very soon after his conversion the apostle Paul,
        "Went amongst the people of Jerusalem Preaching Boldly in the name of the Lord"

We are not called to please others with nice words.( Being Menpleases) If you want to keep all your friends in this world you can't be a true disciple of Christ.
      It's not that you give them up it's that they withdraw from you, Jesus said
"If they hated me they will hate you also" John 15 v. 18

When Paul wrote to Timothy He prophesied that the time would come when men would not want to listen to sound Doctrine
2 Tim. Ch. 4 vs. 3-4
     "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit there own likings, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into Myths."

    Again in Gal. Ch. 1 v 10 Paul warns about trying to please men.
     "Am I now seeking the favour of men ,or of God?    Or am I trying to please men?     If I were still pleasing men, I Should not be a servant of Christ."

In Luke Ch. 4 vs. 18 - 19 Jesus said   "The word of the Lord is Good news."    Its a message of Freedom for those who are in prison.    It gives Sight to the blind. and it releases those who are oppressed.

   Those words need to be fully understood.       Jesus wasn't speaking about getting people out of jail.
   Gods word frees us from a far worse prison than that.

To believe is to be freed from a bondage to Satan.   And if we don't recognise the truth of that or pass it off as myth.   Then we are certainly blinded by Satan and are in need of our spiritual eyes being opened.
And who is it that can,   say. That they are not oppressed by the ways of the world.

To reap any true benefit from being a disciple we must always be willing to obey Gods word,   even when we feel that to do so would be useless.

In Luke Ch. 5 vs. 4 - 6 Jesus said to Simon "Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch,"
   Simon Answered " We've been fishing all night and caught nothing But if you say so we'll do it again."

And they caught an abundance of fish
Obedience even in the light of a previous bad experience.
It didn't work last time but if the Lord says do it,   we'll do it again.

There are Five words in Verse 4 that I believe are quite significant
Jesus said   "Put out into Deep Water."

As disciples we are very often content to stay in the shallow water, where we are comfortable.       Hardly even getting our feet wet at all.

    The Lord wants us to take the plunge and trust him implicitly,
and not be afraid of getting into deep water for His sake.
We can't be a true disciple without Faith,      Consider faith,    Faith is trusting.

    If you think that perhaps I've spiritualised something that was only meant to be a mundane report of an everyday normal fishing trip.

Let me draw your attention to some of the Lords words and I'm sure you will agree. The Lord here used mundane words. But they are used in an endeavour to portray a much deeper Spiritual truth.

Take for instance John Chapter 6 vs. 33 -36
"For the bread of God is that which comes down from Heaven, and gives life to the world." They said to Him, "Lord give us this bread always."    Jesus said to them "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the father gives to me will come to me; and him who comes to me I will not cast out.   For I have come down from Heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me; and this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but rase it up at the last day.   For this is the will of my father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day."

Jesus wants us to look carefully at His words, and allow him to reveal Himself to us.
just a few moments quiet meditation will let us realise that Jesus is trying to reveal to us His true identity.       He is Gods Son.
And if we spend time with Him He will feed us with His word
Jesus says in verse 35."HE WHO COMES TO ME". Not He who waits for me to come to them.

True disciples are securely attached to their master.
In verse 38 - 40 Jesus is telling us that he has come to do His fathers will, and that His father's will is that disciples of Jesus have an assurance of eternal life.

How strong is your conviction that you have eternal life.

If you say you are a Christian. You need to understand what is entailed in being a Disciple    Discipleship is not a game to be played at
Verse 47 "Truly truly I say to you"     "HE WHO BELIEVES. has eternal life."
Do you believe?

Are you a fully committed disciple?
There is no sideline in the Christian life.
You are either on the pitch or off it.

Verse 53   So Jesus said to them.
   "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless yoy eat the flesh of the of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you."

Is this verse Mundane or does it have a deeper spiritual meaning?.
How do you interpret those words?
Surely it's not Literal?
I could tell you how I see them.    But you won't see the truth in them unless God reveals it to you?
This means spending time with the Lord.

Are you one of those who agree with verse 60?
   Many of his Disciples when they heard this, said, " this is a hard saying; Who can listen to it."
Or perhaps even Verse 66.
    "After this many disciples drew back and no longer walked with him."

1 Cor. Ch 2 vs. 14
     The unspiritual man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them for they are spiritually discerned.

If John Ch. 6 v 53 has a deeper spiritual meaning for you .    You should be able to say with conviction as Simon Peter says in Verse 69.
We believe AND KNOW that you are the Holy one of God .

The measure of true discipleship,   is Obedience to Him.
How many times do we have to repeat with the apostle Paul
the words of Gal. Ch. 2 v 20   Before they become true in our lives?
"I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, But Christ lives in me.     The life I live in the body,
I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave himself for me."

True discipleship is a complete & UTTER Dependence on Him.
Fully confident that he is able to keep us from falling.
Not only in the spiritual realm but in our every day walk with Him.
True discipleship means Dedication.
An exclusive dedication.       "Seek ye first the kingdom of God"
We read it and say it so often.     Do we do it?
Never mind what others do.         Do we?

I recall that one of Jesus' disciples once asked Him.
"What about that person over there?"   Jesus said.
"Never mind about him You follow me"