INTRODUCTION:
Today we are going to talk about becoming a disciple of Jesus
But discipleship is your Heavenly Father’s primary

for your life!

The Bible says, “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him” Col. 2:6

One of the last words of Jesus on earth to us was to…
“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you…” Matt. 28:19-20

Disciple is found around 270x in the Bible – all of which are in the first 5 books of the NT and then we are taught how to be a disciple in the rest of the NT.

It’s important to remember that God is love and made you to love you!
- The greatest

in life is to know God and worship Him
- The greatest

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in life is to be known by God and loved by Him and expressed in human relationship with each other!

Life is about

– with God first, and with others.
Jesus said, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” Jn. 13:35

The Twelve whom Jesus called to be His closest companions were with Him day and night.
They had a personal relationship with Him…
- But they weren’t following Jesus just to enjoy His presence.

As Jesus’ disciples, they had a purpose: to learn from Him—absorbing His teaching, learning from His example, even benefiting from His rebukes.
Now to understand what a disciple of Jesus is, it’s important to know what it’s not…

It’s not a role or title you

.
It’s also not good intentions or

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.
Becoming a disciple of Jesus isn’t a

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thing.
Rom 12:2 says, ‘Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think’

Becoming a disciple of Jesus and follower of Him is also not a religious obligation.

4 key components of becoming a disciple of Jesus!

1. CHARACTER – Spiritual

God’s number one goal for your life is to be a disciple of Jesus – follower of Him – aka – become more like Him every day…
- It’s not your (external) comfort
- It’s not changing your circumstances
God won’t move things around you till you let Him move things in you!
- His goal for you is not changing everyone around you cause you

What does this look like?
1. First, it’s characterized in the following traits called the

of the Spirit.
“love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. Gal. 5:22-23 NLT”
Not by…
“sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these.” Gal 5:19-21 NLT

2. following Him, becoming more like Him is seen defined as ‘spiritual maturity’.

What marks spiritual maturity?

Jesus said in Matt 28,
“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you…” Matt. 28:19-20

Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commands”. Jn. 14:15
*And God’s word/His commands are truth*.
Jesus said,
“Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.” Jn. 17:17
And…
“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Jn. 8:32
Not only did Jesus say you will experience freedom in your soul and spirit, but JOY!
⁹ “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. ¹⁰ When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! ¹² This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.” Jn 15:9-12 NLT
Spiritual maturity and character also mean you need to

!
“God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love – like Christ in everything” (Ephesians 4:15 The Message).
“We are not meant to remain as children ….” (Ephesians 4:14 Phillips).

When it comes to your spiritual maturity in Christ, there are 5 stages of growth.

First stage – a person is spiritually

– not born again with faith in Christ and alive in God’s life.
Second stage is – spiritual

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– new believers in Jesus
Third stage is – spiritual

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– understanding the basics of faith
Fourth stage is – spiritual young adult
*Fifth Stage is – Spiritual Adults and

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*

Where do you find yourself? Where can you grow?

2. Your

– Spiritual Mission
“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you…” Matt. 28:19-20

God has given you a mission to go out into all the world to make disciples…
Jesus’ encouragement…
- Father – your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven…
- And the Kingdom of God is characterized by…
- “Righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Rom 14:17

What would this world look like if we made this our primary intention?

3. COMMUNITY – Your Spiritual

Life isn’t meant to be done alone. You were made for community and relationships.
From the beginning of time in the garden of Eden – God said,
“Now the LORD God said, “It is not good (beneficial) for the man to be alone” Gen 2:18
Solomon said,
“Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.”
- You need me and I need you – together we pull the best out of each other
Paul said,
“So we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” Rom. 12:5

Even God himself lives by this example in being a triune God
- Father, Son, Holy Spirit
- Equal persons as one God working together interdependently
- And now the creator of the universe

And your natural family is God’s conduit to His spiritual family.
He has one major goal on this earth – build His family for eternity.
Called His Church and Bride.

4.

– Your Spiritual Surrender

Jesus said this,
“³⁴ Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. ³⁵ If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. ³⁶ And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? ³⁷ Is anything worth more than your soul?”

His call that requires laying oneself down
He said is anything worth more than your soul.
Becoming a disciple of Jesus means laying all this down because He knows what will give you life and life more abundantly as He said.