WHAT KIND OF DISCIPLE ARE YOU?
LUKE 14:25-35
Story of family coming from Church-----father—talking about the preacher----mother talking about the lady behind her and her loud singing-------daughter talking about her S.S. teacher------Son talking about the lady in front of him with the big hat--------then the son said-------“you know dad, it’s still the cheapest show in town”
Peanuts cartoon---- Lucy-----“Sally crawling------when will she start walking”-------Linus-----“Let her crawl, once you’ve stood and start walking–you’ve committed yourself for a lifetime
John Maxwell—in his book “ Be a people person”-----states—“Until I am committed, there is a hesitancy, a chance to draw back. But the moment I definitely commit myself, then God moves also, and a whole steam of events erupt. All manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings, persons, and material assistance which I could never have dreamed would come my way begin to flow toward me—the moment I make a commitment”
Great Commission— Matthew 28:18-20
Acts 1:4----Don’t leave Jerusalem till the Holy Spirit comes
Now here in Luke—Jesus is teaching on Discipleship----He is making clear the demands and commitment of discipleship
Discipleship means following the teaching of Christ----being committed
Now who are the disciples of Christ?----all who are saved
----You see as Christians we should live for Him—follow His teachings and commands
John 8:31--------------John 15:7 7 8
Now let me ask you a question ----What kind of Disciple are you?
—I think there are 3 main kinds of Disciples
1)----Dilapidated Disciple
for those who do not know what dilapidated means----let me give you an example
----My old green truck--------*pray that it would crack and get me where I was going-----*Noise was terrible--------*looks—Margie wanted me to park it in the back yard------kids was embarrassed
You see the truck is still a truck-----still sorter does the work of a truck----but
• Not dependable
• Doesn’t glorify the owner
• Doesn’t have much power
How many Christians are like that
You see we may have started out with a bang----but we fizzled out
we did not persevere---------God needs Disciples like Paul
II Timothy 4:7—“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith”
2)—Dignified Disciples
This is the ones that do everything for show-----bring glory to themselves
You see they are not truly serving God—not willing to do whatever God ask----------They only want to do the showy jobs—what People can brag on
Remember Ananias and Sapphira-----(Andy and Sappie)
-----So many want all the blessings of God------all the prestige----all the glory----but they don’t want to pay the price
They want it all on a silver platter
I Corinthians 1:30-31
3)—Dynamite Disciples
this is the disciple that is really sold out to God------surrenders all to Him------on fire for God
His is willing to serve in any capacity that God wills
• He’s dependable
• He glorifies the Lord
• He has power in his life because he allows the Holy Spirit to have full control of his life
Now these verses tell us something important if we are to be a dynamite disciple------------it tells us some things that we cannot have in our lives
1)----There can be no rival for Jesus—v. 26
Explain
He must have 1st place in our lives---------------now this is not always easy
long ago—a lawyer ask our Lord which was the greatest commandment----------Notice the answer of Jesus found in Matthew 22:37-39
------Luke 18:18-23
How about you----do you have Jesus 1st ----do you have rivals for Jesus
2)—There can be no refusal—v. 27
What does it really mean to carry your Cross
------it means daily identification with Christ in shame, suffering, and surrender to God’s will----------the cross was the will of God for Jesus------What is His will for you----That is your cross
It means dying to self-----our plans—our ambitions----we must have a willingness to serve Him as He directs
Whatever Jesus ask of you-----you must be willing to do
we all have different crosses to bear-----but whatever it may be -----we must be willing to bear it
----To bear a cross is to accept fully the consequences of discipleship-----------shame, loneliness, hostility----------but also joy, peace, and happiness
we can be sure that God will never allow more on us than we can bear
3)—There can be no retreat from Jesus—v. 28-35
This means that once you’ve decided to live for Jesus—you should always live for Him
we should be the salt that is pure and good----not useless--
v. 34-35
Hebrews 12:1-3
Notice v. 33--------sometimes it gets hard—but we must keep shriving----keep in mind the prize set before us
What Kind of Disciple are you?
Dilapidated---------Dignified----------Dynamite
