A Good Example of Discipleship

Posted on March 3, 2009 by russellmckinney

Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand upon him, so that he might receive his sight.” (Acts 9:10-12, N.K.J.V.)

In this passage, a man named Ananias is called “a certain disciple.” That title certainly fits him because, to me, he serves as one of the Bible’s best examples of discipleship. What marks him is his obedience to God.

Through a vision, God told Ananias to go to Saul of Tarsus and place his hands upon him. That was like asking a German Jew to go and offer his help to Adolph Hitler. Saul was a man who sought out Christians, persecuted them, arrested them, and even had them put to death. Seek him out and help him? Even the devout Ananias had to question those orders. In the end, though, he did as he was told. That is, after all, what a disciple does. He obeys, even when he doesn’t see the reasoning, logic, sense, or safety of the assignment.

I wonder if you and I would be as obedient as Ananias. For all he knew, he was walking into imprisonment or death. That’s discipleship on display. If discipleship is about learning (and it is), then no class is more important than the one on obedience.

I’m afraid that the obedience of too many Christians is similar to the obedience of the little boy who was admitted to a children’s hospital. His awful behavior quickly gained him a reputation as a terror, and the doctors and nurses all looked upon him with dread. One day a visiting lady, who had been informed of the boy’s rebellious streak, offered him a deal. If the boy behaved himself and obeyed orders for a week, she would give him a dime. (This was back in the days when a dime meant something.) The woman returned at the end of the week and said to him, “I’m not going to ask the nurses if you behaved. You have to tell me yourself. Do you deserve the dime?” The little fellow paused for a moment as he reflected back upon his week and said, “Gimme a penny.”

Tell me, is there some standing order that is right now coming between you and Christ? Has He told you to do something you simply haven’t done? Are you in danger of having to settle for a penny, if even that, rather than a dime? If this is the case, then you need to learn from the story of Ananias. Quit laying out of the class of obedience because you don’t enjoy it. Just do what the Lord has told you to do and trust in His wisdom. Either that or forfeit the title “disciple.”

Posted in Backsliding, Confession, Discipleship, Disobedience, Dying To Self, Faithfulness, Fear, God's Will, Obedience, Rebellion, Repentance, Submission, Trusting In God | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Requirements of Discipleship

Posted on February 27, 2009 by russellmckinney

So, you say you have an interest in becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ? Let’s see how much interest you really have. First, in Luke 14:26, Jesus says:

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. (N.K.J.V.)

Tell me, are you willing to put Jesus Christ above every other person in your life? It’s not that He wants you to literally hate your family members. (There are scores of other Bible passages that teach us to love our families.) The point is that your love for Jesus should be so much greater than your love for your family members that, by comparison, it is almost as if you hate those family members. How are you doing on that?

Second, in Luke 14:27, Jesus says:

And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. (N.K.J.V.)

In those days, a cross was an instrument of death. Now we would say, “And whoever does not extend his arm for the lethal injection and come after Me cannot be My disciple.” Here again, Jesus isn’t speaking of a literal physical death. How could He be when He follows it up by talking about coming after Him? The point is that you must die to self (your own desires, motivations, opinions, agendas, and goals) before you can qualify as a disciple. How are you doing on that?

Third, in Luke 14:33, Jesus says:

So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. (N.K.J.V.)

Again, we must not run off too far with the literalness. Jesus isn’t demanding that you quit your job, sell your house, and give away all your possessions just so you can be His disciple. The point is, just as no other person should come between you and Jesus, no other thing should either. How are you doing on that?

You see, the reason why Jesus has so few true disciples is easy to understand: The requirements are HARD!!! In point of fact, they are so hard that the average person isn’t willing to meet them. But are you? Please think carefully before you answer because business doesn’t get more serious than this. Jesus asks for nothing less than a full-scale, all-out, no-holds-barred devotion from you. He demands to be given priority over everyone and everything in your life. And if you shy away from meeting this standard, then I’m sorry, but you cannot be His disciple.

Posted in Commitment, Discipleship, Dying To Self, Faithfulness, Family, Priorities, Sacrifice, Service, Submission | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Divine Link Between Growing & Learning

Posted on February 27, 2009 by russellmckinney

Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me…(Matthew 11:29, N.K.J.V.)

There was a preacher who had been in the ministry for twenty years. In a conversation he had with one of his church members, he said with pride, “I have averaged preaching three times a week for the past twenty years. That means that I have preached over 3,000 sermons over the course of my ministry.” The church member, who had endured too many of the preacher’s dull sermons, replied, “No, you have preached one sermon over 3,000 times!”

I like this illustration because it reminds me, as a preacher, of my need to grow. While I must never attempt to change the unalterable word of God, I do have a responsibility to preach what the apostle Paul called “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27) and not just a handful of my cherry-picked topics. It’s also not a bad idea for me to use different styles (expository, topical, verse-by-verse, an outline, no outline) in my preaching. This keeps not only the preaching but also the preacher fresh.

Now let me relate all this to being a Christian. The word “disciple” translates the Greek word for “learner,” and learning walks hand in hand with growing. Just as a child grows by learning to talk, walk, put on clothes, brush his teeth, etc., the Christian must grow by learning more of the Bible, learning to pray more effectively, learning to live a holy life, learning to give, learning to witness, and learning to spiritually discern.

Sadly, however, many Christians aren’t learners. Instead, they are like children who reached a certain stage of growth and stopped growing. Why do surveys consistently tell us that the bulk of our churches are either plateaued (at best) or in outright decline (at worst)? It’s because most of the Christians who make up these churches are either plateaued or declining. When you stop learning, you stop growing.

I suppose that many of these Christians were once disciples of Christ, but they aren’t now. They’ve dropped out of class. They’ve turned in their textbooks. They’ve left school. By this, I don’t mean that they have lost their salvation. No, the eternal security of the believer really is a Bible doctrine. But there is a vast difference between sleepwalking through the routine of a casually Christian lifestyle and getting up each day, taking your seat in Christ’s classroom, and letting the master teacher walk you through your lessons for the day.

Wouldn’t it have been absurd for Jesus to look at the chosen twelve one morning and find only a chosen eight? I can just imagine that conversation. “Where are James and John today?” “Lord, they went home to help their dad, Zebedee, with his fishing business.” “And where is Matthew?” “He decided to return to his job as a tax collector so that he could start saving for retirement.” “And what about Peter?” “He went back to his house last night because his mother-in-law wasn’t feeling well.”

You say, “Oh, come on, Russell, that’s crazy talk. The chosen twelve would never have done such things.” Well, is it any crazier than when Christians today refuse to move up from the level of “Christian” to the level of “disciple”? Is it any crazier than Christians who peaked at the spiritual state of toddler? Is it any crazier than Christians who have been saved for years, even decades, who still act downright infantile when it comes to spiritual matters? Think about it.

Posted in Backsliding, Bible Study, Church Attendance, Commitment, Discernment, Discipleship, Dying To Self, Faithfulness, Giving, Personal Holiness, Prayer, Preaching, Sanctification, Service, Witnessing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment