Are you a disciple?
Published by Stanley Pouw in 2018 · 5 August 2018
Let us start with some basics, if you do anything in service to Christ make sure that it has a biblical foundation. Because God will not bless you in it. If you operate in the flesh you will only get what the flesh can produce. Next we need to remember what Jesus said is a true disciple. We know that you are His disciple if you love one another. And we should be in love with the body of Christ, the congregation.
We need to be connected to the body of Christ, we need to be engaged with the people of the church, and we need to become friends with everyone in the church. And if you are not, you are not a disciple. Those are the words of Jesus and not me. Jesus also said that if you are my disciple you continue in my work. And that means that we are committed to the word of God. Jesus said and if you are not, you are not my disciple.
Jesus also said that you are not His disciple if you do not produce fruit. John 15 said that as a disciple you will produce fruit. What I’m trying to say is that Jesus wants us to know what an authentic believer is. Jesus also wants us to know that there are many fruits that are not real. Similarly there are a lot of people who claim that they are followers of Christ, but are they really?
There are a lot of fake Christians. And the bible speaks very clearly about this. We are talking about the spiritual condition of our churches. But what we need to know is that Jesus loves us all deeply. What Christ longs for is that you give yourselves totally and completely to Him. He will not stop coming after you by placing people who will push you to have an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ.
This is not a relationship that all of us have had. Jesus wants us to know what a true relationship with Him is like. Are you really a disciple of Christ? Do we know what a real disciple looks like? And are we producing disciples? If what we are doing in church is not geared to producing disciples, then it is not of God! And if it is not of God, that means we are standing in opposition to God.
God does not care how much you like what you are doing, or how much the people like what you are doing, or how long you have been doing it. If it is not producing disciples in some form, brothers and sisters, it does not serve the church. Why is Jesus teaching us to become an authentic follower? Because you cannot be a follower of Jesus and not be a follower of His mission!
And His mission is deeply rooted in this concept of being His disciple. Now doing all these things that we just mentioned does not make you a true follower of Christ. But this serves as authentication that we really are a disciple. You can’t say I’m supposed to love the body of Christ, I’m supposed to pray more, I’m going to produce fruit. No, those things are the product of what a believer does, it is a natural outflow if you are a believer.
It is the Holy Spirit in you that is guiding you and prompting you to do what a true disciple does, then it will come out by itself. And if that is not there we need to be honest and ask that question: What is missing in my life? Am I truly a disciple and am I producing disciples? Now let us continue by looking at this verse, “A disciple will consider the cost of following Jesus.”
We need to learn what the difference is between what the modern church does and what the Bible says we should do. Sone churches are diametrically opposed the word of God. Let us look at Luke 14: 25-33, “Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.”
“27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— 29 lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’”
“31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. 33 So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.”
Wow, who says ‘to hate his family’ to the church, especially to people who are not sure? Would you say that first time visitors? Well, Jesus said that because He deeply loves people and He is concerned about the condition of their souls. Jesus wants the world to know the truth. And He wants us to understand that following Christ is not easy. It is not an event at the church, it is not being a disciple of Jesus.
Jesus was very direct, He was not careful with his words, but He was very intentional. Jesus wanted us to understand what He was teaching about being an authentic disciple. In verse 26 Jesus is mentioning every family relationship that there is and He says you cannot be my disciple unless you hate them. In our culture that is just rude. But remember: You cannot be a follower of Him and not be a follower of His mission.
And doing what is required of a disciple does not make us true followers of Christ but rather serves as authentication that we are. You had a heart change and a mind change. But you are not finished, you are still a work in progress. But that word ‘hate’ and God somehow do not fit. Let us look at the real meaning of the word hate in Aramaic. It does not mean anger. It means to love less. Your relationship to Jesus comes first.
All your relationships to the people closest to you should be less than you love relationship with Christ. You must love God more than you love your spouse, your children or your parents. So the way you should love God compared to the way you love anyone else is so great that you can call it hate in comparison. It does not mean to despise people in your family or that you ignore them. Family is special to God.
God taught us to love even our enemies. Martin Luther King said that love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend. He was not all about causes, he was all about Christianity. Only Jesus and His truth can transform a person. When He was preaching the gospel for change, the gospel was popular and civil rights were not. But today the same message is used to make civil rights popular and not the gospel.
We are loving people best when we love them with the gospel. That is the only way we can achieve change that lasts and that continues. Jesus is warning all potential followers that if you follow Jesus, you have to hate everybody else in comparison to Him. Think about the average church member who attends church only 1.1 times a month in America. Do we know what it really means to follow Jesus?
Jesus is also saying that all your family members and close friends might dislike you if you become a follower of Christ. This means that my relationship to Christ is way more important than any other relationship. But as a husband if you are asked: Are you available? Most will want to check with the wife or the family. How many of us would say, let me check with Jesus? Because we have not totally surrendered to God!
Following Jesus is to be the disciple’s ‘first love.’ This pursuit is to have priority over any family member and one’s own life, which means that other concerns are to take second place to following Jesus. That might not be what you do now, but that is what Jesus said about His followers. And we all need to be reminded of that because the world is teaching us the opposite. And many politicians mock the idea of following God.
Jesus not only taught this but He modeled this for us. We now do not have to guess or speculate what that looks like. Focus on these three words: purpose, priority and prayer. This is key to understanding what Jesus modeled for us. Jesus put the purpose of God above His family. Jesus never was concerned about what human culture dictates. The disciples in John 4 were concerned that Jesus talked to the Samaritan woman at the well.
So they wanted to change the subject and asked if Jesus was hungry. But look what Jesus said in John 4:32-34, “But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know. 33 Therefore the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat? 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.” Jesus said the purposes of God are more important than food or family.
Jesus gave the priority of His time investing in the kingdom of God. Everything Jesus did was looking through the lens of kingdom opportunity. Everything was structured to focus on that priority. And everything in your life should have that priority of time and commitment on God’s kingdom too! You should organize everything so that you too can present the life and purpose of Jesus.
Jesus revealed thru prayer His most valuable relationship. Do you know how many times it says in the bible that Jesus prayed? We do not know how long He prayed but there are 25 instanced where it was mentioned that Jesus prayed. But we also know that Jesus prayed without ceasing. We know that He was in constant communication with God the Father. And that is really what prayer is.
Jesus shows us that prayer was a constant relationship between Him and God the Father. We know that Jesus is God but we can see that there is that bond between Him and the Father that is constant. Notice in John that He deals with all those other things that compete with priority. If you are married, you know that your spouse is the greatest competition for time with God.
Here is the problem: there are too many fake Christians, fake ID Christians. By revealing what a true disciple is, God is revealing to us His true identity. No fake ID’s can deceive our all-consuming God who knows our heart. Our God is never fooled by our fake persona. Our God will never be fooled by our words that profess something that we do not possess. There is a big difference between professing and possessing.
Because God loves us so much that He wants to tell you the truth that too many are functioning as fake Christians. This is not where you should be spiritually. So what are the signs of fake discipleship? A fake disciple will not love his church. A fake disciple will not have a commitment to the Word of God. A fake disciple will not be producing spiritual fruit. And a fake disciple will not count the cost of following Jesus.
What does a fake disciple look like? If you come to Christ, it is going to cost you your life. If you are not willing to give up your life, you are not willing to come to Christ. That sounds difficult. By grace, we accept by faith what Christ has done. And that same grace continues to pursue us beyond that salvation experience, giving us room, giving us time and giving us grace to continually grow us day by day in our relationship with Christ.
I believe this is a process that is hard because my flesh is strong. I want to do what I want to do. I want to give what I want to give. I want to sacrifice what I want to sacrifice. I didn’t understand all that was involved. The deepest teaching of what a disciple is, is in this part of Luke 14. Look at verse 27 one more time, “And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”
This is the beginning of a commitment, but the following verses from 28 on describe the cost involved. Following Jesus is not like having a meal together, it is not like going to see an event, and it is not a fellowship in church. It is giving your life to Christ for His cause and purpose. It is surrendering all that you are. In this time many people think that if they go to church a couple of times a month, they are a follower of Christ.
If you throw out what the bible says you can probably say that. But God says it is much more. It is not about God controlling you. It is about God leading you on an adventure of eternity. An adventure that will bring satisfaction and fulfillment to your life like all this fake produce can never even get close to. And yet there are many who miss this principle. What does it mean to carry your cross?
Listen to what Warren Wiersby says, “It means daily identification with Christ in shame, suffering, and surrender to God’s will. It means death to self, to our own plans and ambitions, and a willingness to serve Him as He directs.” When you get baptized as the first thing you should do when you accept Christ as your savior, we say that you are buried with Christ and raised to a newness of life with Christ.
That’s really what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. The old is dead and the new you has been brought to life. You are transformed and you have passion and purpose. When I am obedient to Him, there is a joy and excitement that nothing else compares to. I don’t have to find the next high, the next adventure, the next mountain top, there is just nothing better than walking with Christ.
So let me ask you, are you fake or are you the real deal? How do you answer that? Remember the parable of the soils from Matthew 13? You remember that there are four different soils? Let us read Matthew 13 where Jesus explains this in further detail. It is the story of the wheat and the tares. Jesus has already given the parable, talked about the seed being sown, and how it is accepted or rejected by the various soils.
Matthew 13:24-30, “Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’
“28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”
Here Jesus clearly states that there are fake believers right among the real disciples. Whenever you see opposition to the Word of God and whenever there is leadership in the church that opposes their own faithful preachers, you know that what Jesus said is true. It is the fakes among the real disciples that cause the most damage in the body of Christ. Because the fakes are among the real believers but they do not produce fruit.
And the true believers are influenced by the fakes to the point that they believe that that is normal behavior. And yet God’s Word totally denies that premise. These are people who confuse what the image of a true believer looks like. In the modern age we live in it is prevalent everywhere. The tares right alongside the wheat. Hey people, let us not fool ourselves that we do not have them here right in your churches.
Hey I don’t know who that would be, this is not my call. But I know what the Scripture says about it. I know what Jesus, who really loves us, is trying to say to us, to even the tares who are in your churches. He is calling to us all. And He is saying to you, recognize the signs of true wheat! The tares experience all the resources as do the wheats, they go through the same experiences, but in the end all are harvested by the reapers.
Only God’s servants who are directed by Him know who the tares are and how closely they are to the wheat. God cannot be fooled. And it says that the fakes, the tares, are cast in the fire. And the true disciples remain. Is that really true? Well, let’s look at Matthew 13:36, “Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”
Now listen to Jesus in verse 37-43, “He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.”
41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” Wow, this not me speaking, this is what God says! “43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
Jesus had been dealing with those people that only follow when there are benefits and blessings. Only when the times are good and there are no trials. The people that want to be healed by miracles and want to live a life with Jesus only during good times. Remember back in Luke, He turned to the big crowd that followed, because He wanted them to know the truth. Don’t follow me because of the miracles, but count the cost!
This parable drives that point home to all of us. I don’t see the tares as bad people. But if they are not all in for Christ, they are going to corrupt other believers. That is not necessarily intentional, but it is the depravity of their condition. Their hearts are darkened and they are still directed by Satan himself. They are always offended, always upset, they are not committed and they want to do it their way.
And sometimes the tares are looking around and think I’m doing as well as the others, so I am OK. Maybe the wheat looks at the tare and thinks they can live that way and do those things and they can be non-committal and it seems that they are good church members. That must be part of the normal body of Christ. But that is wrong. Our standard is not the tares. Our standard is not the other wheat. Our standard is only Jesus.
Our standard is what He calls us to. Our standard is to count the cost. And to check our hearts to make sure that we are not a fake ID, we need to make sure that we are authentic. The purpose of the tares is clear, they are intended to take the nutrients of the soil and deprive the wheat. That is why the enemy puts them there. They cannot be removed until the harvest.
Don’t wait until harvest to realize that you are a tare rather than wheat. Let the Holy Spirit in, let Him crack open that humanistic view you have of religion. Let Him break down the walls that have blocked the Holy Spirit from penetrating your heart. Let Him shine the light of truth in your life in such a way that when you look at the words of Jesus and you honestly examine your life, you realize that you look more as a tare than wheat.
And it may be because you are a tare. “41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” Are there tares right here? Jesus profoundly loves you. He is providing us with this Bible that says, I don’t expect you to be perfect.
God says that He looking for you to be what He intended you to be. But Jesus is saying to us, I want to know whether you are in or out. The Bible says that these things are written that you might know that you are saved. And based on the words of Jesus do you know that you are wheat? Don’t say yes, I believe I am wheat, but… Has there been consistent evidence of the proper fruit that says you are a disciple of Jesus?
God allowed you to be here this day to hear the truth. Now what you do with it is your decision. Jesus loves you and He wants you to know the truth today. And He wants you to be supernaturally transformed today. And He is passionately pursuing you right now. He will not stop coming after you. And today is the day for you to make that final decision with the power of the Holy Spirit. I will for sure become that wheat.
My life does not look like what it is supposed to. And today I am going to make that decision for Christ. So how do I do that? God says that a decision like that is made through prayer. Let God know right now that you desire to place your faith in Him. Your desire is to turn away from sin and to live by His power alone, which is called repentance. And you want to live for Him by His strength, because you by yourself cannot do it.
If that is your desire, then pray this with me, “Jesus, I want to be your disciple, I want to follow you, I come to you at this time, wanting to become wheat. I ask you Jesus, to forgive me of every sin that I have ever committed, and I ask you to forgive me of the sins I will commit. Jesus make me new today. Give me everything that I need to live a disciple life, and Jesus today by faith I accept your gift of salvation. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.”
If you prayed that prayer in your heart and mean everything you said, you are saved. God is calling everyone to come and be forgiven and live with Him forcever and ever. He has already paid that price on the cross, all you have to do is accept that and believe! Just come forward so that I can talk to you and continue to build you up for the challenges that will come. But greater is He that is with you than who is in the world.