Next week, the pastoral team will begin a discipleship series. Many Scriptures in the Bible discuss the role of a disciple. Some of these are Numbers 27:15-23, 2 Timothy 2:1-2, Matthew 28:18-20, and John 13:34-35. In the book of Matthew, Jesus said to His disciples, “All authority has been given to Me in Heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and 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.” (Matthew 28:18-20, New King James Version). This passage highlights a few characteristics of a disciple: making disciples, baptizing, and teaching.
There is no higher calling than to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Nothing compares to knowing and following the Savior of the world. To know Him is to love Him, and to follow Him is a beautiful adventure. Still, the discipleship journey is full of pitfalls and snares that threaten to lead us away from the narrow path that leads to heaven. If the devil had his way, every Christian would be lulled to spiritual slumber or led into forbidden paths that would steal the heart away from God. Therefore, even after baptism, we must continue to grow into active and mature disciples of Christ. When Jesus called His disciples, He said, “Follow me”—not merely “Follow My teachings,” but “Follow Me.” We cannot truly follow His instruction apart from Him. A review of the earthly ministry of Jesus reveals that His disciples were with Him nearly everywhere He went. They learned to pray by listening to Jesus pray. They learned the importance of Scripture by seeing how Jesus depended on the Scriptures. They learned to love by seeing love in action in the life and ministry of Jesus. Jesus said, “By this all will know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). In other words: “When people see you acting like Me, they will know you are My disciples. Discipleship is the process of becoming like Jesus by spending time with Jesus. Discipleship classes alone won’t do it, and religious forms won’t do it. The personal relationship between disciple and Teacher is the heart of discipleship. Below is a list of eight spiritual habits that are essential for the disciple of Christ:
- Daily personal prayer
- Daily personal study of the Bible
- Daily morning and evening family worship
- Weekly Sabbath School attendance
- Weekly church attendance
- Weekly prayer meeting or midweek small-group attendance
- Regular personal witnessing
- Regular involvement in local church ministry
According to Jesus, discipleship involves self-denial and sacrifice. Remember that the true disciple will face opposition for standing out from the crowd. With such a cost, why would we want to follow Jesus? Quite simply because we love Him! We surrender all to follow Jesus because we have found the “Pearl of Great Price” (Matthew 13:46). One of the examples that Jesus left for His disciples is partaking of the Lord’s Supper. He told His disciples, “I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom’” (Matt. 26:29); it directs our faith to a future celebration of the Communion meal with our Savior in the kingdom. The occasion is the great festival of the “marriage supper of the Lamb” (Rev. 19:9). Let us follow Jesus willingly and joyfully out of love for Him who, as Paul so beautifully stated, “Love us and gave Himself for us.” This great love far exceeds the attractions of this world. May the Lord bless us as we partake in the Communion service today.
Pastor Evadne Henry
Excerpts from the Discipleship Handbook “A Resource for Seventh-day Adventist Church Members” Principal Contributor: Jim Howard.