Three Conditions Of Christian Discipleship

A. True discipleship demands a complete surrender to the Master.

1. Putting first things first.

B. The second “would be” disciple was invited by Jesus to follow Him.

1. Jesus was asking him to forsake everything to follow Him.

a) This is the same invitation Jesus gave to those fishermen along the banks of the Sea of Galilee.

(1) There they were at their business, minding the store.

(2) Jesus comes up and invites them to follow Him.

(a) He didn’t wait around for them to finish what they were doing.

(b) To follow Him means to forsake what you are doing, take up your cross and follow Him.

b) This is the same invitation Jesus gave to Mathew the tax collector.

(1) Matthew was sitting at the tax office working when Jesus said, “Come, follow Me.”

(2) Jesus knew he had a very lucrative job and that He would have to leave it behind to follow Him.

(a) Yet the call still came to follow.

2. Affections forced this man to say, “Lord, let me first go bury my father.”

a) This young man had some family obligations and wanted to make sure they were fulfilled.

(1) He was willing to follow Jesus – when nothing else was there.

b) He was keeping the law and fulfilling custom - no doubt.

C. Jesus demands complete, supreme allegiance of His followers with a readiness to serve and NO reservations.

1. Jesus tells this young man that if he wants to follow then his duty would be to his new master.

a) His new duty would be to proclaim the Gospel.

b) As for his father – let those who are spiritually dead bury the physically dead.

2. There are many who are disciples in name only.

a) They put duty to family before duty to Christ.

b) They put “things” first in their lives.

c) They subordinate Jesus’ spiritual claims on their lives for there temporal plans, purpose and comfort.

3. When Christ calls we must surrender ourselves to Him at once and entirely.

a) We must be willing to go when He wants us to,

b) We must be willing to go where He wants us to.

c) Nothing must stand in the way of our complete allegiance to His slightest desire for us.

D. When will Christians learn that the claims of Christ are uncompromising?

1. They are spiritual things!

2. Spiritual things should be put above everything!

III. It takes Advancement to Be A Disciple of Christ.

A.W. Tozer (1897–1963) said, “The reason why many are still troubled, still seeking, still making little forward progress is because they have not yet come to the end of themselves. We are still giving some of the orders, and we are still interfering with God’s working within us.”

One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.

A. For Christ followers there is no standing still; you either advance or withdraw

1. To be a true disciple of Christ there is no looking back only pressing forward.

a) You must continually be growing.

B. The third “would be” disciple volunteered to follow Jesus, but his mind was divided.

1. The idea portrayed here is of a man plowing a field.

a) If he wants to plow a straight furrow, he will not be looking behind at where he’s been but looking forward towards where he is going.