Discipleship or Christianity ?

THE FORBIDDEN
TRUTH.
THE FORBIDDEN TRUTH
ELVIS MUSINDO
1/8/16
DISCIPLESHIP.
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KINGDOM INVASION|elvismusindo@yahoo.com
THE
FORBIDEN
TRUTH
THE MISSION OF THE MASTER
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Copyright 2016 Elvis Musindo

Published by kingdominvasion House 2016
1st Printing 2016
Printed and bound by K.I.F.A Printers, Pretoria
Find out more about Elvis Musindo at:
Thy Kingdom Come Campaign
Write to: kingdominvasion@outlook.com
Email: elvismusindo@yahoo.com
Facebook: kingdom invasion for all nations
Twitter: @Pastor elvis musindo
ISBN: 958-4580-8541-1-1
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ACKNOWLEDMENT
Mom-(Elizabeth Musindo) thank you so much for
believing that l could do all things through Christ
Jesus. You are a true blessing and a pillar in my life.
Tapiwa Marasha- thank you for the consistence
exhortation and encouragement to write.
Prophet Emanuel Makandiwa- thank you so much for
being my pathfinder, mentor, and beyond all doubt
my spiritual Father, l will live to celebrate your life.
It could not be such a powerful book without the help
from other established ministers of the gospel l thank
you all for allowing me to use part of your best work
to finish this project, thank you so much.
Above all l appreciate the work of the Father ,Son and
the Holy Spirit in my Life this is where divine
impartation ,passion, purpose and inspiration comes
from ,l would not have a role model beyond you my
Master Jesus .
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DEDICATION
I dedicate this book to every living being old and young
and to my God given purpose KINGDOM INVASION FOR ALL
NATIONS .l owe you more that l could ever repay you .You
are a God given family.
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Pray This Prayer Of Salvation

Now
Lord Jesus come to You as a sinner, lost and condemned to
Hell. l repent of my sins and ask for your forgiveness believe
with all my heart that You died on the cross and rose again on
the third for my sins open my heart to You and receive You as
my Lord and personal savior. Please take control of my life and
make me what You want me to be. Amen!
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
THE FORBIDDEN TRUTH AND LIFE
1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
WHO IS THIS MAN ?....................................................................................................... 2
CHAPTER TWO
CHRISTIANITY
DISCIPLESHIP...........3
CHAPTER THREE
DISCIPLESHIP PLAN 4
WHAT IS DISCIPLESHIP...5
CHRISTIAN DISCIPLESHIP...6
CHAPTER FOUR
THE CALL TO DISCIPLESHIP..........................7
COME TO ME!................................................................................................................8
CHAPTER FIVE
THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP.9
SELF DENIAL. .10
CARRY YOUR CROSS.. 11
FOLLOW ME....12
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CHAPTER SEVEN
HOW ?
FOLLOW JESUS AS YOUR RULER.........13
FOLLOW JESUS AS YOUR TEACHER....14
FOLLOW JESUS AS YOUR EXAMPLE....15
FOLLOW JESUS OPENLY ....16
FOLLOW JESUS CLOSELY...17
FOLLOW JESUS PATIENTLY....18
FOLLOW WHEN JESUS EVEN THE WAY IS SOLITARY..19
FOLLOW JESUS WHEN THE WAY IS DARK.........20
FOLLOW JESUS ALL TIMES.....21
CHAPTER EIGHT
THE REWARDS OF DISCIPLESHIP....22
CHAPTER NINE
BIBLE KNOWLEDGE
WHY WE BELIEVE THE BIBLE...23
BIOGRAGHY
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EPHESIANS 5:15-16
See then that ye walk

circumspectly, not as fools, but as
wise, Redeeming the time,
because the days are evil.
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INTRODUCTION
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION:
To be fair, it is apparent that not even Jesus closest followers
understood his larger mission and message. The tendency to
misread Jesus was a systemic problem among his hearers.
No one who has ever lived has been misunderstood more than
the young teacher who happened to be born, not by preference
but by promise, through the line of the Old Testament Hebrew
patriarch AbrahamJesus the Christ.
Misunderstanding Jesus has caused Muslims to reject Him,
Hindus to suspect Him, Buddhists to ignore Him, atheists to
hate Him, and agnostics to deny Him. But it just may be those
who claim to represent Him the mostChristianswho have
in fact misunderstood and, therefore, misrepresented Him the
most.
The Gospel writers three times bring out the point that people
perceived that the Lord Jesus didn't "care" for people. The
disciples in the boat thought that He didn't care if they perished
(Mk. 4:38); Martha thought He didn't care that she was left in
an impossible domestic situation, doubtless assuming He was a
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mere victim of common male insensitivity to women (Luke.

10:40); and twice it is recorded that the people generally had the
impression that He cared for nobody (Mt. 22:16; Mk. 12:14).
And yet the Lord uses the very same word to speak of the hired
shepherd who cares not for the sheep- whereas He as the good
shepherd cares for them so much that He dies for them (Jn.
10:13)
Those to whom He came first, the Jews, misunderstood Jesus
and saw Him as a rebel, a misfit, and a fanatic. In their minds
He was, at best, a misguided rabbinical teacher spreading
heresies that contaminated the teachings and laws of Moses and
Judaism.
In truth, they had reduced the message of Moses to a
sophisticated religion where strict observance of the laws
became more important than the original purpose for those
laws. And they expected Jesus to do the same.
The original intent of Gods mandate to Moses was not to
establish a religion but a nation of people who would love,
Serve, and honor Goda royal priesthood [and] a holy
nation (see 1 Pet. 2:9).
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The Jews were acquainted with many of the prophecies about

the Messiah, the chosen or anointed one as the word means
in Hebrew. They firmly believed that the Messiah would be a
strong and glorious earthly king who would deliver them from
their Roman oppressors and form once again a great and
independent Jewish kingdom.
The wise men who came from the east seeking the newborn
Jesus inquired at Jerusalem, Where is He who has been born
King of the Jews? (Matthew 2:1-2).
Yes, Jesus was indeed the Messiah, sent from God and born to
be king. He made this fact clear when He stood before Pilate.
However, Jesus had preached the Kingdom of God rather than
the kingdom of Israel. The Jews accused Him before Pilate of
claiming to be Christ, a King, which would make Him a
direct threat to Roman authority. (Luke 23:2)
The Muslim misunderstands Him as simply another in a line of
prophets who was a great teacher, a good man, and a great
prophet, but who fell short and failed to deliver the finished
work of redemption to mankind .The Hindu misunderstands
Him as a good teacher, a good man and just another deity to add
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to their list of gods to provide a service in their need for spiritual

security.
The atheist, agnostic, and humanist see him as a mere man, and
a historical figure, whom a group of misguided men
transformed into a god and an object of worship. They
acknowledge that Jesus existed but deny any of His miracles as
well as His claim to divinity.
The media, scientists, and secularists see Him as fair game for
investigation and criticism. They acknowledge Him as an
interesting subject for arguments, theories, discussion, and
debates while ignoring His divine claims and questioning His
validity, integrity, and sometimes, His very existence.
Christians have misunderstood Him as the founder of a religion
and have transformed His teachings and His methods into
customs and His activities into rituals. Many even have reduced
His message to nothing more than an escapist plan for getting
to heaven and His promises as a mere fire insurance policy for
escaping the pains of a tormenting hell.
Jesus Christ was never a religious man. He was never a Pharisee
or Sadducee or Herodias. He never joined the Sanhedrin
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Council. He never submitted to Caiaphas. He was never a

member of the council of Jerusalem. He never joined the
traditional system of religion in His day. He never started a
religion. He never preached religion.
We have reduced Him to a religious leader. We actually see Him
as one of the founders of the four great religions of the world.
He never claimed such a thing. As matter of fact, His greatest
opposition was religious people who conspired to kill and
indeed killed Him. Who is this man? What was His message?
Given the popularity of Jesus, you might think that most people
would have a reasonably accurate understanding of his
message, which he proclaimed and enacted almost 2,000 years
ago in Judea. Yet this is not the case.
Most people cannot describe the message of Jesus in a way that
reflects the earliest historical records of his teaching, which are
found in the New Testament Gospels.
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WHO IS THIS MAN?

In the beginning was the word, and the word was with
God, and the word was God. John 1:1
John 1:14
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we
beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father, full of grace and truth.
He came from the throne of the Father to the womb of Virgin
Mary, who was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together,
she was found with the child of the Holy Spirit .Jesus had to put
on humanity that we might put on divinity.
He became the son of man that we might become the sons of
God .He was born in a supernatural way, lived in poverty and
He was reared in obscurity.
He had neither wealth nor influence, yet the wisdom of men has
never matched His wisdom .In Infancy He startled a king, as a
boy He stunned theologians with His knowledge, in manhood
He ruled the elements and acquainted the raging seas .He
healed the sick yet without medicines.
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He fed thousands of people from a boys lunch! He never wrote

a book, yet no one of the world Libraries of the world can
contain the books that have been written about Him ,yet no
leader has Ever lived who had more volunteers than .Great man
have come and gone yet he out live them all.
Herod could not kill Him , Satan could not tempt Him, death
could not destroy Him .The grave Could not hold Him ,He laid
aside His purple robe for a peasants gown. He was rich and all
Things were made by Him but yet for our sake He become
Poor, He slept in anothers manger, He rode on anothers
donkey. He was buried in anothers grave.
He is the revelation of the invisible God 1 Timothy 1: 7, He had
to show us what God is like Rev.22, every image is a likeness
but not every likeness is an image, He is a complete
representation of the invisible God.
Jesus is The World Changer; and surprisingly, He is changing
the world by Shepherding people. He changes people by
noticing them, caring about them, and by coming to their aid
Even when :( 1) they do not deserve it,
(2) They do not ask for it,
(3) They do not always treat
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Him kindly for His loving concern. He came to seek and to

save, and you see Him in Scripture seeking people whose lives
were a mess.
John 14:8-9, Philip said to Him Lord, show us the Father,
and it is sufficient for us. Jesus said to him Have l been
with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?
He who has seen me has seen the Father; so how can you
say show us the Father ?
Jesus Christ is the gospel by virtue of His position at the center
of it, He is the object of Faith and the mediator of the message
which is power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16)
His ministry sought great multitudes drawn to Him. (Mark
1:28, 33, 45,4:1) Yet He discouraged mass movements,
downplayed Himself publicly, revealing Himself to His
disciples and these who believed instead of the religious leaders,
political powers and the masses of the curious.
Those who had messianic expectations were disappointed- He
made no effort to raise up a following, seize power, and
overthrow Rome. In fact He made demands in His preaching
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that turned away many and alienated the establishment. His

plan tested on the few men He had chosen.
The Lord knew that quality of discipleship not quantity of
disciples was more important. Before the masses could be
reached and taught and ministered to there must be leadership
to minister. One man cannot carry the load of the whole worldfirst a foundation must be laid. Jesus concentrated on His
disciples for good reasons. Disciples - not converts -was His
goal.
What was Jesus' master plan to reach the world? His Mission
was to...to reveal Himself as God's son come to redeem God's
people to offer Himself up as an atoning sacrifice to reach all of
God's people with this Gospel His Task was further
complicated by...self-imposed human limitations (Phil 2:6-8)a
ministry of only 3.5 years limited to 30 AD technology and
communications
His Goal To establish the church, the body of Christ, To reach
all of God's elect in every nation .His Method was simple...First
to select, disciple and train 12 ordinary men who will be able to
evangelize, disciple and train others in the same task. Then to
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turn them loose equipped with the Word and the Holy Spirit to
disciple the nations.
He concentrated on a few selected ordinary men, who were
"with Him" and to whom He gave both verbal instruction and
a constant example - preparing them though their time with
Him to do the same. A similar method of discipleship was
practiced by the early churches in Acts.
In the long term, devotion to preparing disciples who can
reproduce themselves has the potential for greater growth than
an emphasis on reaching the masses with large numbers of
converts.
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CHAPTER 2
CHRISTIANITY?
Christianity is not a religion and it never was!, Religion is a loser

a strictly fallen activity .It has a failed past and a bankrupt future
.There was no religion in the garden of Eden and there will
never be any in heaven; and in the meantime Jesus has died and
rose again to persuade us to knock it all off right now.
Christianity is not in the religion business, it is into the disciple
making business. Christianity is not another religion
demanding conformity to a particular belief system or data
base of doctrine, it is not a standardized belief system, the
essence of Christianity is not a consensus of doctrine, it is not
commonality of creeds.
Christianity is not another religion propagating an ideology, it
is not another religion remembering the teaching of its
founders. The essence of Christianity is Christ, it is the unction
of the Spirit of Christ as he continue to live in his true disciples.
The term disciple was commonly used in the early church until
the beginning of Pauls ministry. After the first persecution in
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the early church, the stoning of Stephen, the disciples scattered

all over the Mediterranean world. As the church grew in the
Greek city of Antioch, Barnabas was sent from Jerusalem to
teach the new believers. He, in turn, called Paul to help him
instruct the rapidly growing Gentile church there.
It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians
(Acts 11:26).We can only speculate as to the reasons for the
change in terminology for Jesus followers. Some scholars have
suggested that the Gentile believers wanted a name that was not
associated with the distinctive Jewish culture.
Others suggest the terminology could have been changed to
eliminate ambiguity associated with the more general term
Perhaps the use of Christian may have been seen as more
descriptive of who they were following within the Roman
world, -Ian added to the end of a proper name signified giving
total allegiance to that person. Thus Christian became a very
clear term connecting absolute loyalty with Christ. Used in this
way, Christian seems clearer than disciple.
Whatever the reasons for the change, disciple was not used
again in the New Testament after the book of Acts.
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Throughout the early church period until the time of the

Roman emperor Constantine, the word Christian carried the
same distinctive meaning that was associated with Jesus use of
my disciple. Many Christians died for their faith in the hand
of Roman authorities.
To be a Christian meant a willingness to give everything for
Jesus, even life itself. Persecution and suffering only served to
make Christians stronger. After Constantine declared
Christianity to be the official religion of the Roman Empire, the
term Christian began to lose its distinctive biblical meaning.
Christianity grew more politically correct and lost its radical
edge. From that time until now, the number of people who call
themselves Christians has increased dramatically, but the
standard for a true Christian has lowered drastically.
When the Roman emperor Constantine joined the Christian
sect he brought part of the pagan worship, laws and rituals, it all
become part of the Christian worship they began to use
different kinds of symbols.
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What? The Roman church has been misleading people for

centuries now, they have things that are part of their worship
that involves pagan worship.
They lost their focus of following Christ and making disciples
when they adopted Mary worship which was pagan, the proof
that Mary worship is adopted from pagan worship is that the
mother is worshipped more than the child.
True Christianity teaches that Jesus is the truth, the way and the
Life, and there is no other mediator between man and God
besides Christ. The inference of Catholics is that Mary is more
compassionate, understanding and merciful than her son since
they all confess to her.
But they forget that Mary also needed a savior Romans 3:23,
Luke 1:47 as others. Above all Jesus never spoke about the
superiority of his mother (Matthew 12:46-50).According to the
time and number of prayers done to Marry a day, she has to
listen 46 296 petitions a second!.
The wife of Heber the Kenite also received the same greeting
from the Angel, Judges 5:24.The teaching of perpetual virginity
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that marry remained a virgin is a lie! (Matthew 1:25,

18:55,56),Marry had her natural off springs .
In 1951 Pope Pius xii proclaimed that marry saw no corruption
but was taken to heaven John 3:13 denies all that!. The hail Mary
is done 53 times , the Lords prayer six times yet Jesus said dont
pray like pagans who repeat words in prayer.
Beads means monile meaning remembrance, a rosary is closely
connected with the idea of praying to marry, the rosary beads
are for counting prayers. Marco polo was surprised in thirteen
century to find the king of Malabar, using a rosary to count his
prayers.
The pagan worshipers of Astarte in 8 00 BC where also doing
this same act.
They have for centuries fooled themselves that Peter is their first
Pope, which is a lie, why focus on Peter? Jesus Christ never
ordained Peter to be above others as Roman people lie.
The true doctrine of Christ makes it clear that there was equality
between saints as Christ is the head of the body, Mark 10:35-43
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Ephesians 5:23
For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head
of the church; and He is the savior of the body. (Not peter,
not Mary, not your Pastor).
Matthew 16: 18 the church was built on Christ He is the
foundation not Peter.
Peter was married, the fact that peter was married does not
harmonize with the catholic position (Matthew 8: 14, 1
Corinthians 9:5), he would not allow people to bow down to
him, like what pope does.
Acts 10:25, 26
As peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down
at his feet and worshiped him
26, But peter lifted him up, saying, Stand up; l myself am
also a man.
According to his own words Peter did not place tradition and he
never wore any crown of glory that fadeth away.
1 Peter 5:4
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And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the
crown of glory that does not fade away.
A solution for some theologians today has been to use the term
Christian to describe the entry level believer and to use the
term disciple only for the serious Christian. Unfortunately,
this only leads to more confusion.
The terms Christian and disciple must never lose their original
meanings. The accurate picture of a disciple of Jesus must be
clearly ingrained in our minds. If you boil down Christianity to
its essence, its about Jesus. If you boil down the Christian
Life to its essential element, its about following Jesus.
Everything else flows out of following Jesus. Do you want to
simplify your Christian life? Follow Jesus. Do you want to
Live in Gods will? Follow Jesus. Do you want ultimate meaning
and purpose? Then follow Jesus.
True Christianity has nothing to do with all code of rules and
rituals which are being performed in different churches today,
it is not any man-made denomination or organization, but is the
worldwide body of all those individuals who belong to Christ.
The true church is
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The general assembly and church of the firstborn who are

enrolled in heaven Hebrews 12:23
Once you become a follower of Jesus, you immediately and
automatically become a member of that true church, and your
name is registered in heaven in the true churchs membership
rolls. Jesus knows those who belong to him.
Then, what about all the different churches and organizations?
Which one should you fellowship with? Or should you avoid
the organized churches with large buildings, and instead meet
with fellow believers in a private home? Some groups will tell
you that they are the one true church, and that all the others are
false.
Others recognize one another as fellow Christians, but
maintain separate organizations due to different preferences in
style of worship or different traditions for conducting baptisms,
celebrating Communion, and so onrelatively minor
distinctionswhile agreeing with one another on the main
elements of their faith.
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Does it matter which one you choose to fellowship with? Yes, it

matters very much. Some churches or groups calling themselves
Christian are actually destructive cults that ruin peoples lives.
Some are mere social clubs.
Some lead people away from Jesus, while using his name to
make people feel good about doing badeven teaching that
Jesus accepts the very things he condemned.
Jesus himself warned,
Matthew 7:21-23 RSV
Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter
the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my
Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me,
Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast
out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in
your name? And then will I declare to them, I never
knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.
And the Apostle Paul warned the elders of the church in
Ephesus that leaders would arise among them who would
mislead the churches:
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Acts 20:29-30
I know that after I leave, some people will come like wild
wolves and try to destroy the flock. Also, some from your
own group will rise up and twist the truth and will lead
away followers after them.
So, how can you discern whether a church is really doing Gods
will? How can you know whether those in leadership are
following Jesus, or are leading away followers after themselves?
You wont be able to make complete sense of the confusing
array of churches and denominations without knowing what
the Bible says about the history of the early churches, and what
later church history says about the how some of the original
churches became corrupt, and how they broke up into various
denominations and groups.
Such a study could take years to complete, and your
Understanding of these matters may change as you grow and
mature in the faith and as you gain experience in dealing with
other believers.
You may find yourself moving from one church or fellowship to
another as you learn more, or as the fellowship you are in
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changes its character, which often happens as different

individuals assume positions of leadership. But none of this
should cause you to postpone fellowshipping with others who
want to follow Jesus.
Approach the matter prayerfully, trusting that God will answer
your prayer by guiding you into a fellowship where you can
learn and where you can help otherseven if it eventually turns
out that what you learn is that you need to go elsewhere, and
that you end up helping others go with you.
Reading through the New Testament even just once will give
you a general sense of what Jesus and his Apostles taught, and
will allow you to compare that with what you hear in church.
Due to the widespread apostasy (departing from the faith) in
Christian churches today, it is important to exercise caution
when choosing a body of believers to associate with. But, at the
same time, you should not look for perfection, because you
wont find it. Consider, for example, the very first Christian
group with Jesus and the twelve Apostles at its nucleus.
If you attended their meetings, you might have noticed that one
of the Apostles was embezzling funds from the groups cash
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accountJudas Iscariot who later betrayed Jesus. (John 12:6)

But did that mean it was a phony church you should avoid?
Obviously not, because Jesus himself was there, leading the
group. Likewise today, every church group has its problems,
including some impostors among the flock, perhaps even in
positions of leadership.
Just as he keeps working with us individuals to help us grow up
in the faith, Jesus works with churches to help them mature and
do better. In the meantime, even a truly Christian church may
have serious problems.
For example, Jesus used the Apostle Paul to work with the
church in Corinth, which at one point was having such serious
problems that Paul told them,
Corinthians 11:17 NIV
Your meetings do more harm than good. 1
If you are unsure about a church then talk to some wise
Christians that you know and ask their opinion of it.
There are some groups you need to watch out for:
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Avoid groups that claim their particular group is the only

group that will enter the Kingdom of God. They are often
full of unsound teaching and manipulative practices.
Avoid groups that refuse to be upfront with you on the first
meeting.
Avoid groups that do not see Jesus as the only way to
salvation or which mix together Christianity and other
religions or which have "unique teachings" about Jesus.
Avoid groups that participate in the occult or which
condone some forms of immorality.
Avoid groups that have "their own version" of the
Scriptures or which add to the Bible.
Beware of letting any church interpret the Bible for you,
especially if the interpretation turns out to teach something
different from what an ordinary person would understand from
reading the Bible alone.
Instead, become so familiar with the Bible itself that you can use
it to evaluate the teachings you hear at church. Some Churches
may resent youre doing this, but those who follow Jesus and
love the written word of God will welcome your using the Bible
to check up on them.
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The Apostle Paul was glad when his listeners

Acts 17:11 NIV 26
Received the message with great eagerness and examined

the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
Some false teachers preached another Jesus to the church at
Corinth (1 Cor. 11:4)not the real Jesus whom Paul preached.
The Corinthian church also tolerated sexual immorality in its
midst. Paul also worked with the church at Galatia, where false
teachers had introduced a different gospel (Gal. 1:6) that
perverted the gospel of Christ.
Speaking from heaven through a vision, the risen Christ had the
Apostle John condemn the church at Thyatira for tolerating a
woman who promoted sexual immorality. (Rev. 2:20) In fact, of
the seven churches addressed in the opening chapters of
Revelation, only two churches were found to be following Jesus
acceptably; the other five were sternly warned to repent. But
that call to repentance meant Jesus was still working with them.
So, if five out of seven churches in the first century needed to
repent before they could receive Jesus approval, what about the
churches today? And what about their teaching?
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If you want to follow Jesusand not be misled by church

leaders who are preaching another Jesusprayerfully
read the Bible. And keep in mind that Jesus is alive. Besides
living in heaven at the right hand of the Father, Jesus also is alive
on earth, living with, in and through Christian believers. He
promised:
John 14:21, 23, 26
One who has my commandments, and keeps them, that
person is one who loves me. One who loves me will be
loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will reveal
myself to him. . . .
If a man loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will
love him, and we will come to him, and make our home
with him.
. . . But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father
will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and will
remind you of all that I said to you.
And Jesus is present in the meetings of the congregations of
Christian believers:
Where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there I am in their midst. Matthew 18:20
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So, when we fellowship with others, our focus should be on

Jesus and not on the shortcomings of our fellow worshipers.
Remember that we have our own shortcomings too, and the
worldwide church is the body of Christ.
Just as the different parts of our own physical bodies have their
strengths and weaknesses, so the different members of the
church each contribute different talents, and help each other
with their weaknesses.
1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 21-22, 27-28 NIV
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its
many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were
all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body-whether
Jews or Gentiles, slave or free. . . . Even so the body is not
made up of one part but of many. . . .
The eye cannot say to the hand, I dont need you! And the
head cannot say to the feet, I dont need you! On the
contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are
indispensable. . . .
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a
part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all
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apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles,

then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of
different kinds of tongues.
DISCIPLESHIP OF JESUS CHRIST:

BEFORE WE BEGIN TO understand how to become
something, we must have a clear picture of what it is that we
want to become. This chapter describes first what a disciple is
and then what it means to become a disciple of Jesus Christ.
We in the modern church have watered down this imperative.
We act as if Jesus said, Therefore go and make converts of all
nations. The difference between a convert and a Disciple is like
the difference between a football fan and a football player.
Football fans go to a football game to have a great experience.
They cheer the action on the field. They feel jubilant if their
teams win. But they never get down on the field and play the
game.
They dont get dirty, unless they spill their sodas on themselves
jumping up and down! They dont get any bumps and bruises
unless they try to cut in the line at the concession stand! Football
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players are the ones on the field in the game, putting themselves
at risk, and scoring the touchdowns.
Vast numbers of preachers and teachers propagate this false
version of what Jesus calls for in conversion. They simply ask
people to make some kind of deal with Jesus. Is the real Jesus
worthy of something more? Is He just asking for this kind of
shallow response to Him?
The reason why so many people are admirers instead of
followers is that weve led them that way. We believe that
evangelism is getting people to pray the right prayer, get
baptized, and attend church. Salvation is praying the sinners
prayer, and accepting Christ. The big problem is that you
cant find the terms sinners prayer, or accepting Christ
anywhere in the Bible! The Bible doesnt talk about accepting
Christ. It talks about following Christ. The earliest term in the
Bible used to describe Christians was followers of the Way.
The term accept Christ is static and passive.
The term follow Christ is moving and active! The results of
making converts instead of disciples are devastating. First, we
have lots of people on our church membership rolls who have
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prayed the sinners prayer and accepted Christ who have little
to do with Christ and nothing to do with our church.
It says something that only about half the people on our
membership roll ever attend church. Second, many folks who
attend church approach it like spectators or fans. They come on
Sunday morning to see a good show. If the show isnt
sufficiently entertaining or moving, they complain, and if
things dont change, they go somewhere else in search of a
better show.
How do things change? We start by becoming disciples
ourselves. We must become Christ-followers. We cant lead
others to become what were not. Second, we need to become
disciple-makers. When we tell others about Christ, we invite
them to follow Christ, not merely to accept him. We need to
lead them to a lifetime commitment to follow Christ.
The German pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer called
this approach cheap grace. We treat Gods grace as a cheap
thing when we say that we accept the benefits of Christs death,
but we do not truly value Jesus and His gospel and make them
precious in our lives. As Bonhoeffer put it, Cheap grace is the
preaching of forgiveness without requiring
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Repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion

without confession, absolution without personal confession.
Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the
cross, and grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.
What makes this approach so tragic is its popularity and
influence in the world today.
It is the reason why over 40 percent of Africans claim to be
Christian (in some sense) and feel that they are at peace with
God, while they live life on their own terms without any visible
or active faithfulness or obedience to Christ. Most have been
given a false security and a false sense that they have a real
relationship with God. They claim to believe in Jesus Christ,
but the way they live doesnt demonstrate that.
A proper understanding of Jesus and the gospel helps us
connect salvation and discipleship. The real Jesus does not ask
for a bar code faith, cheap grace response or what is simply a
transactional gospel. The heart of the problem is that preachers,
teachers and evangelists just start at the cross and ask for a
decision.
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Yes, the cross is at the heart of Jesus and His gospel, but theres
so much more to the story. We must not skip the life, teaching,
resurrection and current reign of King Jesus, to say nothing of
His teachings on what it means to be a disciple.
The Jesus of the Bible offers salvation (the forgiveness of sins, a
new relationship with God and the promise of heaven) and a
new life, here and now (a life of following Jesus and becoming a
Jesus-centered person). God does not just grant eternal life in
the future; He also gives us a new life in Jesus NOW.
Colossians 1:28
He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching
everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present
everyone fully mature in Christ.
Everything in discipleship goes back to Jesus. More than any
other thing, the Jesus we believe in and the gospel we preach
lead to the kind of disciple we make. Our view of His identity
and mission impacts how we go about making disciples. Going
straight to the biblical accounts to get an accurate picture of
Him is vitally important.
Rather than create a version of Jesus that conforms to our
agenda, we need to lay down our preconceived notions, open
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our Bibles and ask, Who is this man, what did He do, how did
He do it, and how can I join in? To discover the answers to
these questions, we need to intentionally search the scriptures.
CHAPTER3
WHAT IS A DISCIPLE?
The word disciple comes from the Greek word mathetes,

meaning learner, pupil, follower, or apprentice. This same
Greek root is used for math, meaning to learn. Thus,
mathematics is understood to mean thought accompanied by
endeavor. To become a disciple, therefore, means to follow
someone and to learn from the person.
An apprenticeship involves imitating ones master teacher. The
process of how we learn or how we become like another person
is at the very heart of the process of becoming a disciple.
Scripture uses the term disciple in different ways, depending on
the context. While every disciple is a believer, not every believer
is necessarily a disciple.
Many may think that the term disciple refers only to the early
followers of Christ. We know that they were a praying,
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worshipping, loving, giving, and evangelizing group of men and

women who refused to keep the truth of the gospel to
themselves. Yet, God still desires disciples todayordinary
people like you and me whom God can use to do extraordinary
things.
The Christian experience of the believers in the first-century
church may seem radical to many in the church today, but to
those early believers, it was normal Christianity. And these men
and womenempowered and motivated by the Holy Spirit
turned their world upside down for the sake of Christ.
In short, they were true disciples of Jesus Christ. Disciples in
Jesuss day would follow their rabbi (which means teacher)
wherever he went, learning from the rabbis teaching and being
trained to do as the rabbi did. Basically, a disciple is a follower,
but only if we take the term follower literally.
Becoming a disciple of Jesus is as simple as obeying His call to
follow. When Jesus called His first disciples, they may not have
understood where Jesus would take them or the impact it would
have on their lives, but they knew what it meant to follow.
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The relationship between the disciple and his teacher is not

merely that of a student listening to a lecturer, or a passively
interested listener. A disciple listens with attention and
intention. He drinks in every word of his teacher, marking every
inflection of voice with an intense desire to apply what has been
learned.
A disciple follows out of a genuine trust that acknowledges Jesus
and all for which He stands (Romans 3:20-25; James 2:20-25).
We will not follow unless we trust. The concept of being a
disciple is rooted in Jesus and His gospel, but it also flows out of
what it truly means to be saved by grace through faith.
Faith is a living thing. It is an ongoing dynamic: a responsive
interaction between the disciple and the Lord. Faith follows
Jesus as our grace-giver and King.
True faith not only trusts, it also obeys. Jesus is our Lord, our
King who isat this present momentruling and reigning at
the right hand of the Father. Everything comes from Him and
exists by His power, and is intended for His glory. Jesus is to be
followed, obeyed and treasured above all else. No other way is
worthy of Him.
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They took Jesuss call literally and began going everywhere He

went and doing everything He did. Its impossible to be a
disciple or a follower of someone and not end up like that
person. Jesus said, A disciple is not above his teacher, but
everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher
(Luke 6:40).
Thats the whole point of being a disciple of Jesus: we imitate
Him, carry on His ministry, and become like Him in the
process.
Yet somehow many have come to believe that a person can be a
Christian without being like Christ. A follower who doesnt
follow. How does that make any sense? Many people in the
church have decided to take on the name of Christ and nothing
else.
This would be like Jesus walking up to those first disciples and
saying, Hey, would you guys mind identifying yourselves with
me in some way? Dont worry, I dont actually care if you do
anything I do or change your lifestyle at all. Im just looking for
people who are willing to say they believe in me and call
themselves Christians. Seriously?
No one can really believe that this is all it means to be a
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Christian. But then why do so many people live this way? It

appears that weve lost sight of what it means to be a follower of
Jesus. The concept of being a disciple isnt difficult to
understand, but it affects everything.
From the beginning of His ministry, Jesus began to create,
through modeling and teaching, a unique picture of what His
disciples should be like. That distinctive picture is developed
through stories, parables, illustrations, sermons, and questionand-answer sessions.
The further He gets into His ministry, the more precisely He
describes what it means to be His follower. Repent, Come
to Me, Believe in Me, Love Me, Listen to Me, and
Abide in Me. When these demands are seen for what they
really are, they turn the absolute authority of Jesus into a
treasure chest of holy joy.
At several times in His ministry, Jesus intentionally challenged
large groups of curious followers to consider the cost of being a
true follower .By analyzing what Jesus says are the
characteristics of my disciple, we gain a clearer picture of what
He considered the major distinctive of His definition.
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When Jesus called the original disciples to follow him, it was

clear how they had to do it. Peter and Andrew got out of their
fishing boats and followed Jesus, literally walking after him.
(Matt. 4:19-20) Matthew got up from his tax-collecting desk and
followed Jesus, literally walking after him. (Matt. 9:9) But how
can we today follow Jesus?
We cannot see him and physically get up from our seat and
follow after him as he walks down the road. But we can believe
that he died for our sins that he rose from the dead, that he is
alive today, and that he accepts people as his followers now just
as he did back in the first century. Jesus is not visible to us, but
that does not stop him from hearing our prayers and answering
them.
So, if you tell Jesus right now that you are sorry for your past
sins, and that you want to leave them behind and begin a new
life by following him, he will hear you and will forgive your sins
and will accept you as his follower.
I will never turn away anyone who comes to me.
The first time Jesus is recorded using the term my disciple is
in Luke 14:25-33. He had just finished telling the parable of the
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great banquet, indicating that the kingdom of God was going to

include many who were not originally expecting to come.
Multitudes were following Him who apparently were not
serious about Jesus mission. Jesus seems to be thinning out the
crowds by teaching what it means to be my disciple. In this
passage, Jesus identifies three principles to follow to be His
disciple. A person must:
1. Love Christ far above all other human relationships (v. 26).
2. Follow Christ even if it means suffering and death (v. 27).
3. Give everything to Christ (v. 33).
Jesus makes it clear that to follow Him, they must commit their
whole self to Him. A disciple puts the relationship with Jesus
Christ above every other relationship, follows Christ no matter
what the cost, and gives everything (spiritual gifts and skills) for
the kingdom of God. We can only speculate as to the reasons
for the change in terminology for Jesus followers.
So, following Jesus is much more than reading about an ancient
historical figure and trying to live and love the way he did. It is
much more than just joining a church that was founded
centuries ago by his early followers. It is a real relationship with
a real live personthe risen Son of God.
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He invites you to come into this relationship as his follower. But

it is your choice. It is up to you to open the door, to invite him
into your life and into your heart: 11
Revelation 3:20 RSV
Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my
voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with
him, and he with me.
CHRISTIAN DISCIPLESHP
In the New Testament, the last words of Jesus encompass the
essential aspects of discipleship. In what Christians call the
Great Commission, we read
"Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and
on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
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Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them
to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I
am with you always, to the end of the age'" (Matthew
28:18-20).
The main command in this Great Commission is to "make
disciples." Three specific parts are given. First, a disciple is a
person willing to "go" make disciples of others. The early
followers of Jesus boldly taught the message of the risen Jesus,
often facing intense persecution in the process. Yet within a
century, churches had emerged across the entire Mediterranean
area.
Second, disciples challenge those they encounter to be baptized.
Baptism represents acceptance of Christ and a commitment to
follow His teachings. While baptism is not what saves a person,
it is the public confession of allegiance to Christ and willingness
to enter into Christian discipleship.
Third, a disciple teaches others the way of Jesus. While only
some believers are gifted in teaching, all believers are called to
share what they know about Jesus with others growing in their
knowledge of Christ.
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Discipleship is more than a call; it is a lifestyle that is never to

stop, that must never stop until we are called home to eternity
with our Lord. It is the instigation and flow for the Christian
life; it is our continual devotion, worship, learning, growth, and
practice in Christ as LORD over all.
Discipleship is also reciprocal. That is, when one learns, he/she

makes the commitment to train someone else. That is what
Jesus meant by, "I will make you fishers of men." It is not just
catching them and then storing them (fish were processed and
sold for the betterment and use of the community). It is
training, and placing, so they, too, can catch, train, and place!
Discipleship is the primary earthly goal of the Church as a
whole, and of the Christian as an individual. It is our duty, and
the one thing Christ directly commands us to do (Matt. 28:1920). In so doing, we will become like Him in character and share
His outlook and concerns (Luke 6:39-40). We are never to make
disciples in our image-who we are or how we think, feel, and
act-but in the image of Christ!
We are to become His disciples!
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We are to be discipled !
We are to disciple others so they can, in turn, disciple others.
If you are a pastor or church leader, you can't lead others to
know and grow in Christ unless you are growing in Christ
yourself. If you dare to do so, you are slapping Christ in the face
with your feeble pride!
This is all about living our lives for Christ-following, learning,
listening, observing, and experiencing life directly with Jesus
through His Word along with council and instructions from
godly, mature Christians. Then, we are to carry that learning
and experience to others (Matt. 10:1-15; the Book of Acts).
An important early example of this way of making disciples is
found in the summary of the first church in Acts 2:42-47. Rather
than a solely academic process, discipleship involved a holistic
approach that included relationship building, financial
giving, prayer, learning, worship, and every area of life.
We read, "And they devoted themselves to the apostles'
teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and
the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many
wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.
And all who believed were together and had all things in
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common. And they were selling their possessions and

belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had
need. And day by day, attending the temple together and
breaking bread in their homes, they received their food
with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having
favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their
number day by day those who were being saved."
Also important is the impact this first church had on its
community. Because of its focus on Christian discipleship, we
are told new people were saved on a daily basis. As it has been
said, true Christian discipleship is the best form of outreach.
Jesus makes it clear that when it comes to personal discipleship,
He is more interested in quality than quantity. The words He
spoke that day are perhaps the most solemn and searching
words that ever fell from His lips.
Why would Jesus say such things to all those people who
followed Him? It seems that He is intentionally trying to get rid
of them. In a sense, He is trying to get rid of at least some of
them.
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A similar account is found in Judges 7:122. There God wanted

to give His servant Gideon a victory in battle against the
Midianites. But the Lord wanted the glory for the victory so,
through a series of tests, God whittled down Gideon's original
army of 32,000 to 300. God knew that He could do more with
300 alert, committed men than He could with 32,000 halfhearted ones.
Three times in the course of this message in Luke 14, Jesus used
the phrase, "cannot be my disciple." In other words, Jesus was
laying out some absolute requirements for discipleship.
Christian discipleship is much more than a program or series of
steps. Rather, it is a continual process of growth. A person
commits his or her entire life to Jesus and becomes dedicated to
learning His ways while also going, sharing, and teaching this
way of life to others.
Isn't it interesting that Jesus Christ never said to make disciples
by taking them to churchor to a Bible study group, for that
matter. Not that these activities aren't an integral part of a
disciple's growth, but the Lord has something much more
personal in mind.
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There are three components that define true discipleship. The

first is touch. You can't disciple at a distance. The only way iron
can sharpen iron is through personal connection. This is the
touch that invests when others withdraw; it perseveres when
others disappear.
Second, you must make the commitment of time. You won't be
able to reproduce your life and passion for Christ in a day. You
didn't grow overnightwe humans aren't like Jack's beanstalk!
We're more like apple trees that need a lot of time to grow before
fruit begins to appear.
The third component is truth: the truth of God's Word. This
keeps the discipleship process on track, rather than one opinion
contradicting another. Without truth, discipleship of any
kindcoaching a team, tutoring a student, teaching an
instrumentwill not have permanence. The center of spiritual
discipleship is the truth of Scripture.
The goal is more than information... it's transformation.
Jesus ended His time on earth with an imperative command for
individuals as well as for the Church to make more disciples
(Matt. 28:19-20). Consequently, what has been your church's
response to this? (Consider there is nothing we do as a church
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that could be more important that this! It is even more

important than evangelism, which is our responsibility; but the
only imperative command we are given by Christ is to do
discipleship!)
CHAPTER 4
The Goals of Discipleship:
Toward Self: Become Like Christ. A primary goal of
discipleship is becoming like Jesus (Luke 6:40). This is also
understood by Paul to be the final goal of eternal election (Rom
8:29). The process of becoming like Jesus brings the disciple
into intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, and, as
such, is the goal of individual discipleship.
Toward Others:
Know this wonderful fact: God accepted you. You, in turn,
must accept others! At the same time, we are to beware, as a wild
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animal will tear at another animal's weakness and frailty. We

have to ask ourselves, do we do the same with others, and still
seek to praise the Lord?
Christ bears our stupidities, and has patience with us when we
are totally undeserving! We are to seek the good in others, as
our Lord did, and be a blessing to others. We are not to seek selfgratification at the expense of others.
Servant hood: But discipleship is not simply self-centered. In a
classic interaction with two of his disciples who were seeking
positions of prominence, Jesus declares that servant hood is to
be the goal of disciples in relationship to one another ( Mark
10:35-45 ).
The reason that this kind of servant hood is possible is because
of Jesus' work of servant hood in ransoming disciples. He paid
the price of release from the penalty for sin and from the power
of sin over pride and self-centered motivation. The motivation
of self-serving greatness is broken through redemption, and
disciples are thus enabled to focus upon others in servant hood.
This is very similar to Paul's emphasis when he points to Jesus'
emptying himself to become a servant: Jesus provides the
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example of the way the Philippian believers are to act toward

one another (Philippians 2:1-8 ). Mark and Paul declare that
even as Jesus was the redemptive servant, authentic discipleship
entails selfless servant hood. This is the goal of disciples in
relation to one another.
Envy is one of the most destructive forces on earth, and will
bring down leaders and ministries faster than the imagination
can allow! Christ's focus was pleasing God and helping others.
What is yours?
Toward the World: From our studying, to our mentoring, to
our governing, to our hospitality, to our public encounters-all
must be done by one mind and mouth. We must work as a body,
maintaining our individual personalities, but having unified
vision and purpose to glorify God. If this is not so, the result will
be chaos and strife-Satan's favorite playground! We cannot
glorify God in the midst of envy and strife or in the presence of
anger and bitterness. We cannot be known for our negatives, for
they will accomplish nothing. Our focus must be on the
positives.
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We as Christians have a debt to pay because of our gratitude for

what Christ has done. We must consider reaching the lost as an
opportunity to obey our call. The whole purpose of the Jewish
nation was to model God's redemptive plan to all of humanity.
Now the baton has been passed to the Christian (Gen. 12).
The Great Commission. Through his Great Commission Jesus
focuses his followers on the ongoing importance of discipleship
through the ages, and declares the responsibility of disciples
toward the world: they are to make disciples of all the nations
(Matt 28:16-20).
To "make disciples" is to proclaim the gospel message among
those who have not yet received forgiveness of sins. The
command finds verbal fulfillment in the activities of the early
church, as they went from Jerusalem to Judea, to Samaria, to the
ends of the earth proclaiming the message of Jesus and making
disciples.
In the early church, to believe in the gospel message was to
become a disciple (cf. Acts 4:32; 6:2). To "make disciples of all
the nations" is to make more of what Jesus made of them.
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Jesus concludes the commission with the crucial element of

discipleship: the presence of the Master I am with you always,
to the very end of the age" (Matt 28:20). Both those obeying the
command and those responding are comforted by the
awareness that the risen Jesus will continue to fashion all his
disciples. The Master is always present for his disciples to
follow.
As disciples become salt and light in this world, walking the
narrow path, loving and providing hope to the world, they
become living examples for others to follow. Such is Paul's
entreaty, "Follow my example, as I follow the example of
Christ" ( 1 Corinthians 11:1 ).
R.J. Krejcir
CHAPTER 5
THE CALL TO DISCIPLESHIP
In Matthew 4:17, Jesus said, Repent, for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand.
Try taking this phrase literally. If someone warned you to be
prepared because a king and his army were coming, what would
you do? You would make sure you were ready to face him. If you
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werent prepared to fight this king, then you would do whatever

it took to make peace with him.
The word repent means to turn. It has the idea of changing
directions and heading the opposite way. It involves Action. In
this context, Jesus was telling people to prepare themselvesto
change whatever needed to be changedbecause Gods
kingdom (the kingdom of heaven) was approaching.
So how do we prepare to face this heavenly kingdom? How do
we make sure we are at peace with this coming King?
Jesus says we need to repent. This implies that we all need to
turn from the way we are currently thinking and living.
Romans 3:23 explains that all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God.
Every person reading this sentence has done things that are evil
and offensive to this King. Romans later explains that the
wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23).
Because of our sin, which is an offense to God, we should expect
death. But then comes an amazing truth.
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But God shows his love for us in that while we were still
sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8). The death penalty we
should have faced from this King was actually paid for by
someone else. The Kings Son, Jesus Christ.
The Scriptures then say, If you confess with your mouth
that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised
him from the dead, you will be saved (Rom. 10:9). We are
saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. It is all
about who Jesus is and what He has done. Part of our
repentance is to turn from believing that theres anything we
can do to save ourselvesfor everything was accomplished by
Jesus Christ.
The thought that someone else has paid for our crimes is strange
to most of us because it defies our natural way of Thinking. And
the idea that we need to trust in another persons sacrifice on
our behalf is even more foreign.
But Understand that while it is strange to us, it is consistent with
Gods actions throughout the Scriptures.
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We get a picture of this when we read the book of Exodus. In

this story, Moses warned Pharaoh repeatedly about what
God would do if he did not repent. It climaxed when God said
He would bring death to the firstborn of every household if they
did not repent.
Meanwhile, He told His people that if they put the blood of a
lamb over their doorposts, His angel would pass over their
homes and not kill the firstborn of that house. So even in the
story of the exodus, we see that people had to trust in the blood
of a lamb to save them and this was the only way they could
be saved.
Read Ephesians 2 carefully and take some time to consider the
truths it presents. Do you trust in the death of Christ? for your
salvation? Do you ever struggle with believing you need to do
something to save yourself?
Salvation is all about the grace of God. There is absolutely
nothing that you can do to save yourself or earn Gods favor.
Paul said,
Eph. 2:89.
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By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is

not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of
works, so that no one may boast
No one can brag about his or her good deeds because our works
cannot save us. Salvation comes through the grace of God as we
place our faith in Jesus Christ. All salvation requires is faith: Do
you believe that Jesus is who He says He is? But keep in mind
that while this is simple, its not easy. Faith in Jesus Christ
means believing that He is Lord (according to Rom. 10:9).
Have you ever thought about what that word Lord means ? We
sometimes think of it as another name for God, but its actually
a title. It refers to a master, owner, or a person who is in a
position of authority. So take a minute to think this through:
Do you really believe that Jesus is your master? Do you believe
that He is your owner that you actually belong to Him?
Paul is so bold as to tell us: You are not your own, for you were
bought with a price. So glorify God in your body (1 Cor. 6:19
20). The same Lord who by His grace set us free from sin and
death now owns us. We belong to Him, and He calls us to live
in obedience to His rule.
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The problem is, many in the church want to confess that Jesus
is Lord, yet they dont believe that He is their master. Do you
see the obvious contradiction in this? The call to be a disciple of
Jesus Christ is open to everyone, but we dont get to write our
own job description.
If Jesus is Lord, then He sets the agenda. If Jesus Christ is Lord,
then your life belongs to Him. He has a plan, agenda, and
calling for you. You dont get to tell Him what youll be doing
today or for the rest of your life
If anyone would come after me. We are not allowed to
come to God on our own terms we must come to Him on His
terms. To those who had not yet placed their faith in Jesus His
words, come after me can be applied to the initial decision to
surrender their lives to Christ for salvation.
To those who have already placed their faith in Jesus for
salvation, the call to come after me is a renewal of a call to a
life of daily obedience to Christ.
This is necessary because we are all under the constant
temptation to take back what was given up and to reclaim what
was forsaken. It is altogether possible to again place ones own
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will above Gods and to take back rights which were

relinquished to him.
The call to be a disciple meant to count the cost of allegiance to
Jesus, but this took various forms. The Twelve were called to
leave all and follow Jesus around including leaving family,
profession, and property as a training time for their future role
in the church. Apparently others besides the Twelve were also
called to such a following.
But, while all disciples were called to count the cost of allegiance
(Matt 8:18-22; Luke 14:25-33), leaving everything and following
Jesus around was not intended for all (Mark 5:18-19).
Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea apparently became
followers of Jesus sometime during his earthly ministry (John
3:1-14; 19:38-42), yet presumably remained with the religious
establishment and retained their wealth.
When demonstration of their faith and allegiance to Jesus was
required, they came forward to claim the body of Jesus (Matt
27:57-60).
For some of you, this new journey may begin by truly thinking
of yourself as a Disciple. The word Christian implies in
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todays world someone who believes; but the word Disciple

brings us closer to the Biblical texts where Jesus established the
entire framework for this new life.
The Disciple is the one who, in addition to believing, also
follows and is being trained by Jesus, the final Discipler of us all.
The Disciple is one who does it. He is a constant learner, and he
learns because he wants Jesus to make him to be the way Father
intended. No one has to hound a Disciple to learn. He is a
student of Christ, and therefore he is constantly growing and
changing.
In todays world we find many confused, distorted and watereddown teachings as to what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
People are often urged to receive Christ or to accept Jesus
Christ as Lord and Savior without being given a biblical
understanding of what that means and involves. It is popular
today to stress Jesus role as the Savior who forgives, without
spelling out his role as the Lord whom we must obey.
Jesus invitation to discipleship were framed in these words:
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I
will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from
me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find
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rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is

light. (Matt. 11:28-30).
Jesus stood up and cried out, If anyone thirsts, let him
come to me and drink.John 7:37
Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life; whoever comes
to me shall not hunger.John 6:35
You refuse to come to me that you may have life.John
5:40
When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud
voice, Lazarus, come out. The man who had died came
out.John 11:43-44
When a person is born anew and experiences repentance, his
attitude about Jesus changes. Jesus himself becomes the central
focus and supreme value of life. Before the new birth happens
and repentance occurs, a hundred other things seem more
important and more attractive: health, family, job, friends,
sports, music, food, sex, hobbies, retirement. But when God
gives the radical change of new birth and repentance, Jesus
himself becomes our supreme treasure.
The only job of a rabbi was to study, to learn and to teach. There
were different schools of rabbinical thought and these schools,
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or ways of approaching interpretation of the Torah and the

Talmud, were called yokes. To become a disciple of one rabbi
or another was to take that particular rabbis yoke upon your
neck.
Notice how Peter uses the word yoke in Acts 15:10 and how
Paul uses it in Galatians 5:1. In each case they are referring to a
branch of teaching or biblical interpretation. It was a term
commonly employed in this way. When Jesus contemporaries
heard Him invite them to take His yoke upon them, there was
no confusion about what He meant.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, He said.
You see, a disciple did not learn about his rabbi. Rather he
learned from his rabbi. A disciple was not a casual learner, but
rather he was one who left everything else in order to follow his
rabbi day and night. He gained far more than knowledge from
his rabbi. He absorbed his rabbis life. A disciple learned from
his rabbi a way of thinking and living. He listened to his rabbi;
he discussed and debated with his rabbi; he ate as his rabbi ate;
he slept as his rabbi slept; he used his rabbis phrases and speech
patterns. As much as was possible, the rabbi reproduced himself
in the disciple.
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A disciple became the pupil of a rabbi as a young teen-ager and

lived as a disciple until the age of 30, at which time that disciple
became a rabbi.
When that disciple-turned-rabbi taught, he was teaching the
words and the heart and the life of his rabbi. He might say, The
words I speak are not my words, they are the words of my
rabbi. But that rabbis rabbi had a rabbi. And that rabbis rabbi
had a rabbi.
No rabbi spoke on his own authority. A rabbi might say to his
disciples, Everything my rabbi has taught me, I am making
known to you. Are you recognizing that Jesus was and is an
altogether different kind of Rabbi, and so being His disciple
taking His yoke upon youis a call like no other? When Jesus
taught and healed, the religious leaders challenged Him by
asking Him by what authority He did such things.
Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was
teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came
to him. By what authority are you doing these things?
they asked. And who gave you this authority? (Matt.
21:23).
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They were asking Him, Who is your rabbi? Whose yoke do you
wear? The aspect of Jesus teaching and personality that first
caught the crowds attention was that He taught as one who had
authority. The crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he
taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the
law (Matt. 7:28-29
Many times, such as in the encounter recorded in Matthew
21:23-27, when the scholars and leaders of the day challenged
Him by questioning His credentials, He used the typical
rabbinical method for answering a question. He responded with
a question of His own.
The only reasonable and logical answer to His question would
have led His detractors to the conclusion that Jesus authority
came from His rabbiYahweh.
In Matthew there is a description of two gates and two ways, the
one leads to life, the other to destruction (Matt7:13-14). Any
observant reader or hearer will understand the implicit appeal:
find the narrow gate and choose the hard way! In Luke the same
image is used in an explicit imperative: Strive to enter by the
narrow door!
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The following context shows that the narrow door leads to

salvation and a place at the table in the kingdom of God (Luke
13:23-30). We do not find the term conversion in these texts.
But they no doubt are appeals to turn to God and choose the
right way.
Many parables present two possibilities. The wise and the
unwise maidens show how important it is to have enough oil for
the lamps in time (Matt 25:1-13). The Good Samaritan, in
difference to the priest and the Levite, shows how to react when
you see a neighbor in need, (Luke 10:30-37). When you are
invited to the great banquet, you should come without excuses
and hesitation (Luke 14:15-24; Matt 22:1-14). The good father
waits patiently for the son who has spoilt his inheritance.
But the son has to repent and turn his steps towards his home
and come to his father (Luke 15:11-24). These parables warn
against the wrong way and invite to make the right choice.
Repent, for the kingdom of God has come near may be put as
an adequate headline over them and many other parables. They
confirm that the call to conversion has been an important part
of the message of Jesus. As in the OT prophets the call is serious
and intense.
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It is a question of life or death, salvation or destruction, the

kingdom of God or the darkness outside! Conversion means to
stop turning your back to God and to direct your way of life
wholeheartedly to him. In the message of Jesus conversion is
defined by Shemar, the confession to the one and only God
whom you shall love with all your heart, and with all your soul,
and with all your strength (Luke 10:27; Matt 22:37). But this
first and greatest commandment cannot be isolated from the
second, which is like it in importance: You shall Love your
neighbor as yourself.
The content of Jesus call to conversion is given by the double
commandment of love. In Matthew the Sermon on the Mount,
and especially the antitheses, can be read as a description of
what repentance means.
COME TO ME!
Before anyone can become a disciple of Jesus, they must first be
born again. This salvation is entirely God's work through the
atoning death of Jesus on the cross. Having been redeemed in
Him, a man or woman responds in repentance and faith,
embracing Christ as Savior and Lord.
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The testimonies of Jesus' early disciples, recorded in John 1

show the faith they had in Him right after they became
believers. Everyone, absolutely everyone has fallen short of
God's glorious holy standards for their lives. You might not
have murdered but you probably have lied.
You may not have slept with someone else's wife or husband but you probably have hated someone or been unjust or cruel.
Sin is not just sexual sin or murder, it includes being greedy,
jealous, and envious. It includes our thought life too! All that we
think in our imaginations is known to God.
That is why Paul the apostle can write: (Romans 3:23 NKJV)
"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". All
includes me - and it also includes you. Fact Two: God is holy
and just therefore He punishes sin.
Romans 6:23 NKJV "For the wages of sin is death, but the
gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Sin
carries the death penalty.
There are two kinds of death referred to in the Bible - physical
death and eternal spiritual death. Eternal spiritual death means
going into torment in Hell forever and ever, it means separation
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from God, from goodness, from truth, from sanity, from

happiness and light.
It is eternal torment and disintegration. When we refuse to
follow God and obey Him we are rebelling against our Creator
and the Source of Life. If we rebel against the Creator it is us
who lose.
It is God who sustains us, not the other way around! When we
tell the Source of Life to stay away from our life and not to
interfere we are actually saying "don't supply me with life". To
sin, to disobey God, is to attack ourselves in the long run. Its
like speeding - fun until you have to stand before the Judge.
Unfortunately the sentence for a life of sin is not a speeding
ticket - it is eternal death. Fact Three: Jesus took our
punishment for sin when He died upon the Cross. God
prepared a way for sin could be dealt with - through special
sacrifices.
In the Jewish sacrificial system this was a perfect animal without
spot or blemish. Jesus was sinless and was the perfect sacrifice
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for all the sins of all people for all time. The Bible tells us that
God saw that everyone had sinned and was in danger of Hell.
He decided to rescue them by sending Jesus to die instead of
them. Jesus died on the cross went down into the world of the
dead, took our punishment fully and was raised from the dead
three days later. Our sins were "nailed to the cross" and dealt
with when Jesus died.
(Romans 5:8 NKJV) But God demonstrates His own love
toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Anyone who believes in Him can now have their sins forgiven
because Jesus' sacrifice has provided forgiveness for everyone
who wants it. Some people are too proud to want God's
forgiveness. They think they can get to Heaven without the help
of Jesus. But as we saw before they can't- because they, like you
and I, are guilty before God. And the thing about guilt is that it
takes only one crime to make you guilty and deserving of
punishment.
A thief cannot say "but I did not kill" and a murderer cannot say
"I did not steal" - their one crime makes them guilty. So it only
takes one sin to make us guilty before God and no-one can say
they are good enough for heaven. We all need to accept what
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Jesus did for us and say thank you to God for it if we are to
become true Christians.
People are often urged to receive Christ or to accept Jesus
Christ as Lord and Savior without being given a biblical
understanding of what that means and involves. It is popular
today to stress Jesus role as the Savior who forgives, without
spelling out his role as the Lord whom we must obey.
The Gospels show that Jesus started out his preaching
ministry with a call to repent: . . . Jesus began to preach,
and to say, Repent! . . . (Matthew 4:17), and that he
concluded it with the same message: that repentance and
remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the
nations . . . (Luke 24:47) (The meaning of repent is to feel
sorry for past conduct, to regret or be conscience-stricken
about past actions, attitudes, etc.with such sorrow as to
want to change one's life for the better.)
Jesus disciples were faithful to the commission he gave
them, and preached repentance. Peter urged his first public
audience to Repent, and be baptized
(Acts 2:38)
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Paul told a pagan audience that, The times of ignorance

therefore God overlooked. But now he commands that all
people everywhere should repent. (Acts 17:30) Later, Paul
summed up his ministry by explaining that he declared first
to them of Damascus, at Jerusalem, and throughout all the
country of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should
repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance.
(Acts 26:20)
The call in Scripture to repent, and to do works worthy of
repentance, is not given just to non-believers, but is also
repeated to the members of Christian churches. In the opening
chapters of Revelation, the risen Christ addressed messages to
seven prominent Christian churches in Asia Minor.
To one of those churches, Jesus said, . . . repent and do the
first works; or else . . . (Rev. 2:5) To another church he said,
I have a few things against you, because you have there some
who hold the teaching of Balaam . . . you also have some who
hold to the teaching of the Nicolai tans likewise. Repent
therefore, or else . . . (Rev. 2:14-16) 132
To yet another of these seven churches, the risen Christ said, I
have this against you, that you tolerate your woman, Jezebel,
who calls herself a prophetess. She teaches and seduces my
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servants to commit sexual immorality, and to eat things

sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to
repent of her sexual immorality.
Behold, I will throw her into a bed, and those who commit
adultery with her into great oppression, unless they repent of
her works. I will kill her children with Death, and all the
assemblies will know that I am he who searches the minds and
hearts. I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.
(Rev 2:20-23) Could that same message apply to some churches
today?
To another of those first century churches, Jesus said, . . . I
know your works that you have a reputation of being alive,
but you are dead. Wake up, and keep the things that
remain, which you were about to throw away, for I have
found no works of yours perfected before my God.
Remember therefore how you have received and heard.
Keep it, and repent. If therefore you wont watch, I will
come as a thief, and you wont know what hour I will come
upon you. (Rev. 3:1-3)
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Jesus had strong words for five of the seven churches. Only two
escaped receiving such warnings and calls to repent.
Are todays churches in better shape than those seven churches?
Or in worse shape? Might we find five out of seven churches
today in line for condemnation rather than praise?
The condition of the churches highlights the need for each
individual to look to Jesus and to the Scriptures for direction,
rather than just passively listen to the preaching from the
church pulpit. My aim in this book is to help the reader do that
How then has anyone ever come, since we are all enslaved to sin
and spiritually dead ?
Jesus answer was that God, in his great mercy, overcomes our
resistance and draws us:
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me
draws him (John 6:44). No one can come to me unless it
is granted him by the Father (John 6:65).
God grants the gift of new birth and repentance, which opens
the eyes of the spiritually blind to the truth and beauty of Jesus.
When this happens, all suicidal objections fall. We are finally
free. And, finally free from slavery, we come.
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Lazarus, Come Out! Jesus came into the world to gather his
flock from all the world (John11:52). He lays down his life for
them and demands that they come to him. Though he weeps
over those who do not come, he will not be frustrated in his
design. He will succeed in gathering a people for himself.
He speaks with absolute sovereignty when he says, I have
other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also,
and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock,
one shepherd (John 10:16).
He must bring them. They will heed his voice. They will come.
When you hear the voice of Jesus saying, Come to me, pray
that God would give you eyes to see Jesus as irresistibly true and
beautiful. Pray that you would hear this command the way
Lazarus did when he was dead.
[Jesus] cried out with a loud voice, Lazarus, come out. The
man who had died came [out of his grave] (John 11:43-44).
When you come to Jesus like this, you will never cease to praise
and thank him for his sovereign grace.
I can't make you follow Jesus, no-one can. Its between you and
God. In your seeking there are a few facts that make the journey
a whole lot easier and quicker.
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The disciple is called to Lay something down-Deny Himself.

Secondly the disciple is called to lift something up take up the
cross
CHAPTER 7
THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP
Many who discover what is involved in true discipleship will
avoid it, as did the rich young ruler. But if we thoughtfully
consider the rewards of following Jesus, along with the
alternatives to it, we should quickly conclude that there is no
other way, there is no better way, and there is no easier way,
than His way.
Luke 9:28
For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first
sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to
complete it?
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Before we look at the costs that Jesus spells out, think with me
for a moment about the phrases, sit down and calculate the
cost, referring to the man building the tower (14:28); and, sit
down and take counsel, referring to the king considering going
to war (14:31).
Both refer to careful, detailed, rational thinking in which you
consider all aspects of what youre getting into before you make
the commitment. Such careful thinking is opposed to an
impulsive decision made in a moment of intense emotion,
without much thought about the consequences.
Yes, there is a cost to discipleship, but what we gain in the place
of the things we give up is infinitely better. It costs to follow
Jesus Christ, but it costs more not to. If you are settling for
anything short of discipleship, you are missing out. Walking
into a church doesn't make you a Christian any more than
walking into a garage makes you a car. Attending church does
not save us, nor does anything else we do.
Jesus first lays out two of the costs of discipleship (14:2627);then, He gives two parables (14:28-32) that make the same
overall point, namely, that a person must give careful
consideration to the cost before he rashly jumps into it.
Then He states a third cost of discipleship (14:33). He then
(14:34-35) gives an illustration about salt to illustrate the cost of
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not truly following Him. He concludes by warning, He who

has ears to hear, let him hear.
Luke 9:5758: "Now it happened as they journeyed on the
road, that someone said to Him, 'Lord, I will follow you
wherever you go.' And Jesus said to him, 'Foxes have holes
and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has
nowhere to lay His head.'"
The man in this story did not even wait to be called. He hastily
volunteered. He seemed to have a good heart, but he was
impulsive. No doubt he had been watching Jesus with great
admiration, and now wanted to walk with Him. But he had not
counted the cost!
This man did not know what lay in his future, but Jesus did. By
the nature of Jesus' statement to him, it would appear that this
man, in contrast to the one who wanted to avoid friction with
family and friends, was too concerned with material things in
general. In essence, Jesus was saying to this man (and to all who
would be His disciples), "Whatever would dull your desire to
serve, quench your hunger for the Word and thirst for prayer,
or make the world more attractive must go."
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Jesus is not asking if you will commit 20%, 30%, or 50% to

Him. He is asking you to commit everything. Billy Graham
said, "Salvation is free, but discipleship costs everything we
have."
Those who are following Jesus simply for what they can get
won't stick around when the going gets tough. When God's way
conflicts with our way, we will feel betrayed by the shallow, mefirst faith we have bought into.
If we have not counted the cost of being His child, we will turn
away at the threat of sacrifice and find something else to gratify
our selfish desires (cf. Mark 4:5, 16-17). In Jesus earthly
ministry, there came a time when the free food stopped and
public opinion turned ugly. The cheering crowds became
jeering crowds. And Jesus knew ahead of time that would
happen.
To be a disciple of Christ Jesus, is there anything that you would
not lay aside? Is there anything that holds its value when
compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Him? When you
hear Him call you be His disciple, His follower, His learneris
there anything your flesh has to offer that can outweigh the
riches of His kingdom? Count the cost, and then count the
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reward. The cost of discipleship? It costs you nothing, and it

gains you everything!
HE WHO follows me, walks not in darkness," says the Lord. By
these words of Christ we are advised to imitate His life and
habits, if we wish to be truly enlightened and free from all
blindness of heart. Let our chief effort, therefore, be to study the
life of Jesus Christ.
The teaching of Christ is more excellent than all the advice of
the saints, and he who has His spirit will find in it a hidden
manna. Now, there are many who hear the Gospel often but
care little for it because they have not the spirit of Christ. Yet
whoever wishes to understand fully the words of Christ must
try to pattern his whole life on that of Christ.
We cannot earn salvation by lifestyle change or any other good
deed (Ephesians 2:8-9). But when we choose to follow Christ,
we are releasing control of our lives. When Jesus is in control,
pure living results (1 John 3:4-10; 2 Corinthians 5:17). In Jesus
parable of the sower, it was only the soil that allowed the seed to
put down roots and bear fruit that was called good. If we are
going to be Disciples of Christ, we must first count the cost of
following Him.
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His call to you is that you give up everything you have to be His
disciple. And when you have emptied yourself of everything you
have, He will fill you with everything He has. What does your
Rabbi have to give you? Hear the words of your Rabbi: All that
belongs to the Father is mine (John 16:15). Once you have
counted the cost, then count the reward.
We must also consider the cost of not following Christ. If we
make a profession of following Christ, but then go back on our
commitment, people will ridicule us as they would mock a man
who started to build a tower but couldnt complete it:
He claimed that he became a Christian, but look at him now!
Some Christian he is! Or, we will face the damaging effects of
being defeated by the enemy because we did not consider the
intensity of the battle we were facing. Satan loves it when a
Christians testimony is ruined because he did not consider the
demands of following Christ in this evil world.
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SELF DENIAL:
The greatest barrier to discovering all that God has for us is our
preoccupation with self. We have become a self-obsessed
societyJesus' mandate goes against the grain of popular
culture. In fact, many in the church today have been advocating
that the answer to most of the problems in our society is to build
up our self-esteem and feelings of self-worth.
Luke 14: 2525 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and
said to them, 26 If anyone comes to me and does not hate
his own father and mother and wife and children and
brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot
be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and
come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you,
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desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count
the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?
29 Otherwise, when he has laid a 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 out to encounter another king in war, will not
sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten
thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty
thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way
off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So
therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that
he has cannot be my disciple.
"Deny himself" This is best interpreted by what the disciples
have just heard about Christs fate. Jesus was about to submit
Himself and His own desires to the desire of the Father for Him,
which was suffering and death.
To deny oneself refers contextually to being mindful of the
things of God, not the things of man Matt 16:23. A person who
truly receives Christ as Savior is in effect denying himself and
his wants as nothing and Christ as everything.
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The word denial means to repudiate; to disdain; to disown; to

forfeit; to totally disregard C.S. Lewis once wrote, "The real test
of being in the presence of God is that you either forget about
yourself altogether or you see yourself as a small, dirty object. It
is better to forget about yourself altogether."
I dont think following Jesus means abandoning all hopes and
dreams here on earth, but rather, as you become more Christ
like, hopes, dreams, and ambition ought to be transformed to
reflect the mission and glory of God.
To deny yourself means to say No to yourself and Yes to
God. Paul is not talking about asceticism forgoing earthly
possessions, not eating certain foods, ignoring the world, etc. To
say it differently, the process of denial is to humbly submit my
will to God. It is to go through life repeating the words that
Jesus said the night before he died.
When he was praying in the garden, he said to God his Father,
Not my will but yours be done. It is what millions of
Christians have prayed for centuries when they repeat what we
call the Lords Prayer. Your will be done, on earth as it is
in heaven (Matthew 6:10).
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Denying self requires us to give up anything that we would want

or seek that would hinder our doing the will of God. This does
not mean that, if we want something, it is necessarily wrong. It
means we must take our wants and desires down from the
throne and place Jesus and His will as the governing power in
our lives.
There is room in each life for only one master (Matt. 6:19-24).
If God is to rule in our lives, then our will must be made
subservient to His. We must be willing to give up anything in
life in order to please God. Rom. 12:1, 2; Matt. 6:33; Luke 14:2533; 2 Cor. 5:14, 15.
What does it look like to live out this prayer? Someone hurts
you. Your natural reaction is to lash back, to get angry. But the
path of discipleship is not my will but yours. It is humbly
submitting my will to Gods will. Instead of getting angry, we
realize that God is calling us to forgive even our enemies. Pauls
Instructions to the church in Ephesus. Be kind and
compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as
in Christ God forgave you (4:32).
When I am hurt, I am called to submit my will to Gods will and
follow his example. This is what it means to deny yourself.
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Now, I dont always do it. Sometimes I like to reword Jesus

prayer: not your will but mine be done. But thats not what
Jesus said.
As it cost Jesus to follow the Fathers will, so it would cost His
disciples to do the same. As we shall see, sometimes there is
agreement about the substance of the condition on the part of
Lordship and Free Grace expositors.
But the focus of the debate is on whether these are conditions
for salvation or for a deeper commitment of discipleship. Also,
it should be noted that the requirements are for anyone who
desires to "come after" Christ (Matt 16:24).
To deny oneself is to be aware only of Christ and no more of
self, to see only Him who goes before and no more the road
which is too hard for us. All that self-denial can say is: "He
leads the way, keep close to Him. VAIN is the man who puts
his trust in men, in created things.
Jesus taught us to pray, "thy kingdom come thy will be done
on Earth as in Heaven." What that means is that His kingship,
His authority, His dominion is to rule absolutely in our lives,
just as it does in Heaven, where no angel or saint goes about
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with their own agenda, seeking their own desires, but all are in
absolute submission to the will of God.
You see, as He wins your heart more and more, your desire will
be to surrender more and more of our life to Him. When He
brings you to this place of surrender, the first area of your life
He will bring under His dominion is this: you will no longer be
able to reserve the right to sin, to do things that you know are
displeasing to Him.
Will you sin? Yes, you will, but you will no longer reserve the
right to sin. You will no longer reserve the right to deliberately
disobey His commands, even if they are inconvenient.
Probably the next area of your life that He will bring under His
dominion is your time. You will no longer reserve the right to
do with your day as you please. When you come to this place of
surrender to Christ, He will very quickly let you know what
time you are to arise in the morning, daily prayer and bible
study will no longer be optional, and you will begin to seek Him
for what to do with free time, or time that is not already spoken
for, because it's not really free, it belongs to Him already, you'll
just have to find out what He wants you to do with it.
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Another area that He will eventually bring under His dominion

is your spending. You will no longer be able to spend as much
as you want on what you want, but you will stay within a budget
that He will lay out for you, and you will make major purchases
only at His direction.
Little by little, day by day He is bringing more and more under
His dominion. What is His dominion? His dominion is the
Kingdom of God, and in the Kingdom of God He rules utterly,
He is the sovereign, He is King.
In Luke 9:23
Jesus says, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny
himself, and take up His cross DAILY and follow me. I
want you to notice the word "daily".
You see, when you surrender your life to Jesus your days
become temples for the presence of God, rather than vehicles
for your own purposes and pleasure.
When you surrender your life to Jesus your days become
temples for the presence of God, and everything you do during
your day becomes worship unto Christ. The more areas of your
life He brings under His dominion, the more acts of worship
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you offer to Him throughout your day. When I feed Grandma

and clean her face, I am feeding and cleaning Jesus.
When I wash the dishes and clean the house, I am worshipping
Jesus. When I plain or sand a board, or clean my shop, I am
worshipping Jesus. All through my day, all I have to do is just
look up, and I can see His smiling face and I can connect with
Him and pour out my love to Him, for He is always nearby.
Psalms 37:23
"The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. He
delights in every detail of their lives."
You see, when you deny yourself and take up your cross daily,
every little detail of your life and your daily routine will be a
delight to God, for it will be worship unto Him. Worship will
no longer be something you do, but something you live. You
will become a living sacrifice, and remember, Rom. 12:1 says
that this is your reasonable act of worship.
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Do not be ashamed to serve others for the love of Jesus Christ

and to seem poor in this world. Do not be self-sufficient but
place your trust in God. Do what lies in your power and God
will aid your good will. Put no trust in your own learning nor in
the cunning of any man, but rather in the grace of God Who
helps the humble and humbles the proud.
If you have wealth, do not glory in it, nor in friends because they
are powerful, but in God who gives all things and who desires
above all to give Himself. Do not boast of personal stature or of
physical beauty, qualities which are marred and destroyed by a
little sickness. Do not take pride in your talent or ability, lest
you displease God to whom belongs all the natural gifts that you
have
To deny yourself means that, through an act of love, you
surrender your right to do what you want rather than what He
wants.
In other words, you come to a place of surrender to Christ
where you no longer reserve the right to do as you will, but only
as He wills. You no longer reserve the right to sin. You no longer
reserve the right to disobey.
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The following examples by Mick Alexander highlight the selfdenial we are all called to.
HUMBLING OURSELVES:
In Luke 14:7-11, Jesus tells us not to take the best seat at a
gathering otherwise the host may ask us to move so that he can
give the seat to a more honored guest. We should take a less
important seat and the host may honor us by moving us to a
better place. Jesus said,
"For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he
who humbles himself will be exalted" (Luke 14:11). The
first step to becoming a disciple is to be humble because "God
opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble" (1 Pet.
5:5). Denying self-starts with being humble.
POWER AND POSITION

Peter was the leader of the Jerusalem church and a powerful,
miracle-working Apostle yet he referred to himself as just a
fellow elder. He didn't lord it over his fellow workers but wrote,
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(1 Pet. 5:1-4).
"To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder be
shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as
overseers - not because you must, but because you are
willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but
eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you,
but being examples to the flock"
Peter put serving others ahead of power, titles and money.
Denying self includes treating others as equals and not lording
it over anyone .Probably our greatest example of humility and
servant-hood is Moses. We are told in Num. 12:3 that he was
"more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth."
At forty years of age, he no longer wanted to be part of
Pharaoh's family (Heb. 11:24-27).
He chose to leave his great wealth and power in Egypt to
become a simple shepherd in the desert for forty years. Then,
when he was chosen to lead Israel out of Egypt, he resisted that
powerful position but God commanded him to go.
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Moses was a very humble man who denied himself enormous

power, authority and wealth in order to serve God. Denying self
includes answering God's call at the expense of all things.
WEALTH:
Many Christians seek wealth but, in 1 Tim. 6:8, Paul said, "if
we have food and clothing, we will be content with that."
Paul had absolutely no interest in money or the things of this
world. Writing from prison he said,
Philippians 3:8
"I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing
greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake
I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may
gain Christ"
The only thing Paul wanted was a greater knowledge of Jesus.
Like all the great men of God, power, position and wealth were
meaningless to him. Money can cause terrible problems, even
the loss of faith.
We are told in 1Tim. 6:10 that
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"the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some

people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and
pierced themselves with many grief."
We need money for our basic needs but, other than that, the
only thing money is good for is giving, either for the Gospel or
to help those in need. Regarding giving, in 2 Cor. 9:7, we are
told that
"Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to
give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a
cheerful giver" and 2 Cor.8:13 gives the reason for giving:
"Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you
are hard pressed, but that there might be equality."
The generosity of our giving is not determined by the amount
we give but by the amount we keep.
Jesus praised the poor widow of Mark 12:42-44because she gave
her last two small copper coins, all she had to live on. He said
that she had given more than all the others because she had
given not out of her wealth but out of her poverty.
If what we give doesn't affect our lifestyle then we really have
nothing to boast about to anyone, least of all to the Lord.
Denying self includes not clinging to our wealth.
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REPUTATION:
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Because of our pride, one of the most difficult things to give up

is our reputation. We are easily offended by what others have to
say but we must put our reputation firmly into God's hands, just
as Jesus did.
1 Pet. 2:23 says, "When they hurled their insults at him, he
did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats.
Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly."
Jesus didn't allow His pride to rule His actions and, in Matt.
5:11-12, He said that there is a great reward for those who do the
same:
"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you
and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven,
for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were
before you."
Denying self includes putting our reputation into God's hands.
FINALY:
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Denying self is one of the greatest challenges in our Christian

walk. We can't be a disciple of Jesus and love the things of this
world at the same time; we must be willing to deny ourselves
worldly power, position, wealth and reputation; anything we
put ahead of God is an idol.
1 John 2:15-16
"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone
loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For
everything in the world - the cravings of sinful man, the
lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does comes not from the Father but from the world."
We only have a short time on earth in which we can honor and
serve the Lord so let's fight our sinful nature and deny our
cravings, lusts and boasting and humbly serve Him while we
can.
You no longer reserve the right to do with your life or any
portion of your life as you please. You no longer reserve the
right to do with your time as you please. You no longer reserve
the right to do with your money, or your mind, or your mouth,
or anything else as you please.
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To deny yourself means you no longer reserve the right to

indulge your flesh. You no longer reserve the right to speak evil
of a disciple is to utterly disown himself, to refuse to
acknowledge the self of the old man.
We are to count the old man as being dead, (Rom. 6:11).
We are to make no provision for the flesh.
(Rom. 13:14).
To deny oneself means to follow the example set forth by the
Lord Jesus Himself in coming to this world. (Phil. 2:5-8).
We are to live our lives as one alive to God, but dead to sin and
to the world, Gal. 2:20.
nother.
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CARRY YOUR CROSS:

Atonement for the sins of others could only be accomplished by
that sinless One at the cross. But although it would be
blasphemous for anyone to suggest that we may expiate our sins
through personal suffering, it is necessary for us to carry a cross
if we would follow Jesus.
Not the cross of redemption, which Christ alone could bear, but
that of discipleship which every Christian must carry.
The disciples cross, unlike that of the Redeemer, does not
achieve salvation through atonement. It expresses self-denial in
the course of costly obedience to the Master and service to
mankind.
Luke 9:23.
And he said to all, If anyone would come after me, let him
deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
"And whoever does not bear his cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:27).
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Many think this means bearing burdens and suffering

hardships for the Lord. Surely such hardships will at times be
required, but there is a fuller meaning if we consider the context.
When Jesus begins to unfold this inescapable truth to His
disciples, He once more sets them free to choose or reject Him.
"If any man would come after me," He says. For it is not a matter
of course, not even among the disciples. Nobody can be forced,
nobody can even be expected to come.
He says rather, "If any man" is prepared to spurn all other offers
which come his way in order to follow Him. Once again,
everything is left for the individual to decide
The phrase "a cross to bear" is a popular derivation of the words
of Jesus: "Take up your cross and follow me." While the phrase
is commonly understood to mean acceptance of some
burdensome task, the command to take up the cross is much
more than a symbol of the difficulties experienced by humanity.
Any person, whether a follower of Jesus or not, will suffer
frustration and pain in this life. Taking up one's cross and
following Jesus is something completely different.
(1) What is a cross for? It was not just a burden to be borne. Far
more than that, it was an instrument of death and total sacrifice.
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(2) Jesus said take up our cross and follow Him. He bore a cross
and we must bear our cross and follow Him. But where was He
going with His cross? He had just said He was going to die. (3)
In the next verse Jesus said we must give our lives for Him. (4)
Then He asked what good our lives would be to us, if we are
unacceptable at the judgment.
The cross was an instrument of death. What Jesus is referring to
is commitment to Him, even unto deathobedience to the
extreme measure and willingness to die in pursuit of obedience.
Death on a cross was not pleasant.
It was painful and humiliating. The implication is that even if
obedience is painful and humiliating, we should be willing to
endure it for Christ.
So, "taking up your cross" refers to giving your whole life to
God, as Jesus was about to give His life for us. This involves
bearing burdens, but it is deeper than that. It is a total dedication
of life.
Our whole life is given to His service in anything He says. This
will lead us to willingly deny self. Following Him then requires
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us to live as He lived His life (I Pet. 2:21; Matt. 10:34, 35; I Cor.
11:1).
The determination to give our lives to God's service is called
"repentance." In repenting we determine to turn away from our
own will and live our lives to please God. We cannot be saved
without this, and that is why repentance is so important in
salvation. It also explains why so many people are not truly
Jesus' disciples (whether or not they may claim to be His
disciples): because they are not willing to make this total
sacrifice
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FOLLOW ME!
If any man serve me, let him FOLLOW ME (John 12:26).
If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and
take up his cross, and FOLLOW ME (Matt. 16:24).
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they
FOLLOW ME (John 10:27).
If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples
indeed (John 8:31).
We have lost our way in a world of sin. There is a road through
it to a world of perfect holiness and joy; but we cannot find this
road, nor keep it when found, without a guide. God Himself
undertakes to be our leader.
In the Bible, loving and obeying Him is spoken of as following
Him. Caleb and Joshua are commended because they wholly
followed the Lord. We are told that David followed God with
all his heart; and Elijah appealed to the Israelites, saying, If the
Lord be God, follow Him. When Jesus called His chosen
disciples, He said, Follow Me, and the sons of Zebedee left
their nets, and Matthew rose up from the receipt of custom.
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They not only went to Him, but remained with Him. Their
conduct while He was visibly on the earth was an emblem of
what the Disciples of Christ should do always after a spiritual
manner. As the sinner earnestly seeking salvation is said to
come to Jesus, in like manner the afterlife of those who are
truly converted is spoken of as following Jesus.
The disciples, grateful for the benefits they had received,
delighting in His company, and conscious of their continued
need of His help, followed Him bodily, journeying when He
journeyed, rested when He rested, listened to His teachings, and
rendered Him any service He might require.
Just so they who have come to Him for salvation continue to
trust in Him, and out of love to Him keep near Him in their
thoughts, study His Word, imitate His example, and obey His
commands. This is what is meant by the exhortation, Follow
Jesus.
Num. 32:12; Matt. 4:18-22.
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Would you still follow Jesus if it meant losing your closest

friends?
Would you still follow Jesus if it meant alienation from your
family?
Would you still follow Jesus if it meant the loss of your
reputation?
Would you still follow Jesus if it meant losing your job?
Would you still follow Jesus if it meant losing your life?
Lots of people believe in Jesus. They just love him to pieces.
They worship and adore him. They praise his name. They invite
him into their hearts and accept him as their Lord and Savior.
But not many people are willing to follow him.
For the most part, believing in Jesus is really believing things
about Jesusthat Jesus is divine, that he died for our sins,
that he will come again to judge humanity and to establish his
kingdom. But this kind of belief does not necessarily take the
teachings of Jesus seriously.
One can conceivably believe that Jesus is the Son of God and yet
still live self-centered lives, ignore the cries of the poor, and
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demonstrate hatred toward people of other races, cultures, or

sexual orientations.
All of this believing, loving, worshipping, and accepting Jesus is
largely an internal experience, sometimes highly emotional,
and although it's frequently expressed in a corporate setting, it's
often intensely personal and private. But following Jesus
is not an internal state. It's an engagement with the outside
world in a tangible way.
Some Christians are embarrassed to discuss their beliefs, while
others are more than willing to profess their faith in public.
Some may wear a cross as jewelry to symbolize their faith and
devotion to Jesus. But publicly proclaiming Jesus as Lord is still
not the same as following Jesus.
Why do you call me `Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I tell
you? Jesus once asked. (Luke 6:46)
Following Jesus is about listening and doing. It is about putting
into practice the things that Jesus taught. It is about a lifestyle of
peace and justice that sets one apart from others
When Jesus was in Jerusalem during the Passover, John's
Gospel tells us that many believed in His name after they saw
the signs He did. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them,
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because "He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should
testify of man, for He knew what was in man" (John 2:2425).
To put it simply, many believed in Him, but He did not believe
in them. Many believed in Him in a shallow, superficial sort of
way, without any real commitment attached. They were
interested in Him, curious about Him, drawn by Him, and
perhaps even felt affection for Him.
But the loyalty of these crowds was a mile wide and an inch
deep. Jesus knew that when push came to shove, the multitudes
would simply drift away. For that reason, Christ did not commit
Himself to them.
It is not only about believing in Christ but what we do after
believing him. To truly follow Christ means He has become
everything to us. Everyone follows something: friends, popular
culture, family, selfish desires, or God.
We can only follow one thing at a time (Matthew 6:24). God
states we are to have no other gods before Him (Exodus
20:3; Deuteronomy 5:7; Mark 12:30). To truly follow Christ
means we do not follow anything else. Jesus said in Luke 9:23,
"Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and
take up their cross daily and follow me."
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There is no such thing as a "halfway disciple." As the disciples

demonstrated, no one can follow Christ by the strength of his
own willpower. The Pharisees were good examples of those who
were trying to obey God in their own strength. Their self-effort
led only to arrogance and distortion of the whole purpose of
God's Law (Luke 11:39; Matthew 23:24).
To truly follow Christ means He has become everything to us.
Everyone follows something: friends, popular culture, family,
selfish desires, or God.
We can only follow one thing at a time (Matthew 6:24). God
states we are to have no other gods before Him (Exodus 20:3;
Deuteronomy 5:7; Mark 12:30). To truly follow Christ means
we do not follow anything else.
Jesus said in Luke 9:23, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must
deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me."
There is no such thing as a "halfway disciple." As the disciples
demonstrated, no one can follow Christ by the strength of his
own willpower. The Pharisees were good examples of those who
were trying to obey God in their own strength.
Their self-effort led only to arrogance and distortion of the
whole purpose of God's Law (Luke 11:39; Matthew 23:24).
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Jesus gave His disciples the secret to faithfully following Him,

but they did not recognize it at the time. He said, "The Spirit
gives life; the flesh counts for nothing (John 6:63).
And "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless
the Father has enabled them (verse 65). The disciples had
walked with Jesus for three years, learning, observing, and
participating in His miracles. Yet, even they could not follow
Him faithfully in their own strength. They needed a Helper.
Jesus knew that he would not always be on earth to have
followers in this physical sense.
(John 16:5, 7).
I am going to him who sent me. I tell you the truth: it is to
your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the
Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to
you
Jesus was fully aware that the movement he began would
continue after he had gone back to his Father in heaven.
This was his plan .Therefore, the demand that we follow him
was relevant not only for his physical days on earth but for all
time. He made this clear at the end of his earthly ministry. He
had risen from the dead and was about to ascend to the Father.
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He told Peter that he would suffer martyrdom someday after

Jesus was gone. Peter wondered if he was the only one and asked
Jesus what would happen to his fellow apostle, John. Jesus
answered,
(John 21:22).
If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to
you? You follow me!
What this implies about following Jesus is that it happens
after he is gone. Until Jesus comes again, he expects his disciples
on earth to follow him.
So following Jesus is not limited to physically walking around
Palestine behind him. Jesus demands it of every person in every
country in every age. Jesus promised many times that, once He
had ascended to the Father, He would send a Helper" to
themthe Holy Spirit (John 14:26; 15:26).
In fact, He told them that it was for their good that He was going
away so that the Holy Spirit could come (John 16:7). The Holy
Spirit indwells the heart of every believer (Galatians 2:20;
Romans 8:16; Hebrews 13:5; Matthew 28:20).
Jesus warned His followers that they were not to begin
testifying of Him "until you have been clothed with power from
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on high" (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4). When the Holy Spirit came
upon those first believers at Pentecost, they suddenly had all the
power they needed to follow Christ, even to the death, if needed
(Acts 2:14; 4:31; 7:59-60).
Jesus invitation to Come, follow me is still open. He
instructed his original followers to go and make followers of all
people in the world. And besides praying for those original
followers, Jesus also prayed to his heavenly Father for 6
Future followers saying, My prayer is not for them alone. I pray
also for those who will believe in me through their message.
(John 17:20 NIV)
So, the invitation is open to you. Jesus invites YOU to become
his follower.
How can you do that? What is involved in following Jesus?
As we just read above, people today can become followers of
Jesus by believing in him through the teaching of his original
followersthe ones who wrote the Gospels and the New
Testament in the Bible.
Jesus commanded those original followers to teach future
followers to obey everything that I have taught you. (Matt.
28:20 NCV) So, following Jesus today involves believing in him
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and obeying the things he taught his original followers, as found

in the Scriptures they wrote.
If you ask people today what it means to follow Jesus, you will
hear many different contradictory answers to that question. But
the only correct answer is the answer found in the pages of the
Bible where Jesus teachings are actually written down for
anyone to read.
Following Jesus means striving to be like Him. He always
obeyed His Father, so that's what we strive to do (John 8:29;
15:10). To truly follow Christ means to make Him the Boss.
That's what it means to make Jesus Lord of our lives (Romans
10:9; 1 Corinthians 12:3; 2 Corinthians 4:5).
Every decision and dream is filtered through His Word with the
goal of glorifying Him in everything (1 Corinthians 10:31). We
are not saved by the things we do for Christ (Ephesians 2:89)
but by what He has done for us.
Because of His grace, we want to please Him in everything. All
this is accomplished as we allow the Holy Spirit to have
complete control of every area of our lives (Ephesians 5:18).
He explains the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 2:14), empowers us
with spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:4-11), comforts us (John
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14:16), and guides us (John 14:26). To follow Christ means we

apply the truths we learn from His Word and live as if Jesus
walked beside us in person.
Following Jesus is more than just believing in Jesus. Following
Jesus means following the path of the cross.
Whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not
worthy of me(Matt. 10:38). If anyone who would come
after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and
follow me (Matt. 16:24).
Following Jesus is our death sentence: to die to ourselves and
the way of this world. Its so simple and yet, how quickly we
forget. We lose sight of the Savior and start to focus on ministry,
theology, efficiency, programs, and policy all good things.
But we lose Jesus in the busyness and clamor of good things.
Losing sight of what is of primary importance is what Jesus
meant when he gently corrected Martha,
You are anxious and troubled about many things, but one
thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion,
which will not be taken from her (Luke 10: 41-42).
Mary, unlike Martha, had positioned herself at the Saviors feet.
She represents the wise disciple who understands that it is all
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about Jesus.While following Jesus is simple, its not necessarily

easy. Its hard because the call is to follow.
We are not in charge. Jesus is in charge. He calls the shots. It can
be hard both on account of where he takes us as well as where
he keeps us. We dont know what tomorrow brings.
We dont get to choose how we will glorify God. We are called
to simply follow. What following Jesus looks like will be
different for every person. Some might be like Peter, called to
serve Jesus at home in the neighborhood, at the school or in the
job in which the Lord has placed us.
Some might be like Paul, called to take the gospel to the ends of
the earth. What is important is that we follow Jesus wherever
he leads, wherever he calls.
Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of
men(Mark 1:17), he was using imagery relevant to them for
something that applies to everyone who follows Jesus.
The demand to follow Jesus means that everyone should join
him in what he came to do.
And he tells us repeatedly what that was. The Son of Man came
. . . to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). The Son
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of Man came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). I have
not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance (Luke
5:32). I came that they may have life and have it abundantly
(John 10:10). What shall I say? Father, save me from this
hour? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father,
glorify your name (John 12:27-28).
In summary, then, he came to die for the nation [of Israel], and
not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children
of God who are scattered abroad (John 11:51-52).
He came to gather a peoplespecifically, to gather a people in
allegiance to himself for the glory of his Fatherby dying to
save them from their sins and to give them eternal life and a new
ethic of love like his (John 13:34-35).
Therefore, when he demands that we follow him, he means that
we join him in that task of gathering: Whoever does not gather
with me scatters (Luke 11:23). There are no neutral followers;
we either scatter or gather.
Following Jesus means continuing the work he came to do
gathering a people in allegiance to him for the glory of his
Father.
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FOLLOW JESUS AS YOUR RABI:

THE FOLLOWERS of Christ are designated in the New
Testament as disciples, or learners. If diligence is shown by the
followers of the great leaders of human thought, who are
personally unknown and liable to error, much more earnest
should we be in learning of Him whom having not seen we
love, and whose instructions are never mingled with error, for
He is divine and infallible.
He instructs His followers by the Scriptures which holy men of
God wrote as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. All
Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is able to make
us wise unto salvation. He has commanded us to search the
Scriptures.
The Bible then should be the constant companion of all who
follow Jesus. A day should never pass without our reading some
portion of it; not as a task to be hurried over, but as a letter from
a dear Friend, to tell us about Himself, assuring us of His
affection, and directing us how to please Him.
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Let us come to it, not to confirm our own opinions, but to make
our opinions bend to its teaching. Let us value not only what
agrees with, but what is opposed to our wishes; our earnest
desire being to know the will of Jesus in all things.
He also teaches by His Spirit influencing our mindsnot to
supersede or add to the Bible, but to enable us to understand
and love what it reveals. To know it in the heart as well as in the
intellect, we need divine teaching.
Let us, then, earnestly pray that He would open our eyes to
behold wondrous things out of His law. We may gain
assistance from the sermons, books, and conversations of good
men; but we must only follow CHRIST.
All men may err. Every church is only a collection of men
capable of mistakes. We must, then, follow Jesus. How much
more union would there be amongst His disciples, if, instead of
making men their leaders, saying, I am of Paul and I of
Apollos, they would all be more anxious to follow Jesus.
Gracious Teacher, help me to follow Thee, as a humble and
diligent learner of the truth. May Thy Word be a lamp unto my
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feet and a light unto my path Make me to understand the way

of Thy precepts. Incline my heart unto Thy testimonies.
2 Tim. 3:15-16; John 5:39; Ps. 25:8-9, 12; 119:12, 26, 33, 64,
68, 135, etc.
FOLLOW JESUS AS YOUR RULER:

Mat 7:21 not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall
enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the
will of my Father which is in heaven.
A CHIEFTAINS followers are those who obey his commands.
Jesus, in like manner, requires from all who follow Him,
unquestioning and cheerful obedience.
If ye love me, keep my commandments. Why call ye Me
Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
If I have come to Christ as the Captain of my salvation, I am no
longer my own master. I dare not do as I please. I dare not
exercise my own discretion as to whether or not I will perform
His bidding.
As the soldiers of an army promptly obey the general, though
they may not understand the reason of his orders, and even
when they fancy he may be in error; so must I do whatever my
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Commander requires, without questioning His reasons, and

even when my foolish, unbelieving heart may suggest that it
would be better to do something else.
Moreover, whatever I possess is His more truly than it is mine.
I dare not use my time, property, talents, just as I like. I am not
my own, but bought with a price. I must no longer ask what
will be most easy, pleasant, profitable, or respectable; but what
will be most in harmony with the will of Jesus.
I must be willing to make any sacrifice, and to displease my
friends, rather than disobey Him. I must endeavor to act
according to His commands, not only on great occasions, but in
all the little circumstances of daily life.
I must remember that if He is always near me to do me good,
He is also watching my conduct, and looking for proofs of my
fidelity and love.
The language of my heart should therefore continually be,
Lord, what wilt THOU have me to do? Teach me TO DO
Thy will, for Thou art my God; Thy Spirit is good, lead me
into the way of uprightness. Give me understanding, and I
shall keep Thy law, yea, I shall observe it with my whole
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heart. Make me to go in the path of Thy commandments,

for therein do I delight.
To assist us in thus obeying Him, Jesus has given us His own
example. To this the readers attention will now be directed.
Matt. 7:21; 25:2; Luke 7:46-49; 1 Cor. 6:20; 1 Pet. 1:13-19.
FOLLOW JESUS CLOSELY:

PETER FOLLOWED Jesus afar off on the night when He was
betrayed. What was the consequence? Peter denied Him. Had
he followed Jesus closely, from the garden to the palace, he
would not have thus fallen. Many think they can follow at a
distance, yet with Christ in view.
But how constantly is the peril of such a following seen in the
departure of travelers altogether from the road.
How soon is Jesus lost sight of, and then how easily the track is
missed, and we wander about in doubt and peril. We may never
find the road again. And if we do, we lose all the pleasure of His
Company.
There are joys experienced by those who follow so closely as to
hear all He says, which they know nothing of who are content
to follow afar off.
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What prevents this closeness? Is it the heavy luggage or

entangling dress of some sinful indulgence, some worldly
compliance, which makes us lag behind? Oh, then, let us at once
cast it away, in order to follow Jesus closely.
So closely should we follow, as to be able to touch Him, to take
His hand, to lean on Him? David said, My soul followeth
hard after Thee; Thy right hand upholdeth me. Yes, we
must follow so hard after Christ as to feel His right hand
holding us up. O Thou who didst say, Without Me ye can do
nothing, help Thy servant to follow Thee, supported and
upheld by Thee.
Let no interval be allowed between my soul and Thee. Teach
me that I am never safe unless leaning on Thy mighty arm.
Hold up my goings in Thy ways, that my footsteps slip
not.
Ps. 63:8; Matt. 26:58-75; Mark 10:50; John 15:1-8; Phil.
3:12-14.
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FOLLOW JESUS AS YOUR EXAMPLE:

John 13:15:
For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have
done to you. 16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, the servant
is not greater than his lord; neither had he that is sent
greater than he that sent him.
1Peter2:21KJV:
(21) For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ
also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye
should follow hissteps:
1John2:6:
(6) He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also
so to walk, even as he walked.
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(Ephesians 5:1-2 KJV)

(1) Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
(2) And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and
hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to
God for a sweet smelling savour.
(Philippians 2:5-8 KJV)
(5) Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ
Jesus: (6) Who, being in the form of God, thought it
not robbery to be equal with God: (7) But made
himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form
of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: (8)
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled
himself, and became obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross.
(Mark 10:43-45 KJV)
(43) But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever
will be great among you, shall be your minister: (44)
And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be
servant of all. (45) For even the Son of man came not
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to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his

life a ransom for many.
(John 13:14-15 KJV)
(14) If I then, {your} Lord and Master, have washed
your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.
(15) For I have given you an example, that ye should
do as I have done to you.
(John 13:34 KJV)
(34) A new commandment I give unto you, That ye
love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love
one another.
(1 John 3:16 KJV)
(16) Hereby perceive we the love {of God}, because he
laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down
our lives for the brethren.
(Romans 15:5-7 KJV)
(5) Now the God of patience and consolation grant
you to be likeminded one toward another according
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to Christ Jesus: (6) That ye may with one mind {and}

one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ. (7) Wherefore receive ye one another, as
Christ also received us to the glory of God.
(Colossians 3:13 KJV)
(13) Forbearing one another, and forgiving one
another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even
as Christ forgave you, so also {do} ye.
(Hebrews 12:2-3 KJV)
(2) Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of
{our} faith; who for the joy that was set before him
endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set
down at the right hand of the throne of God. (3) For
consider him that endured such contradiction of
sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in
your minds.
AN ARTISTS followers are those who imitate his style. Jesus
has set us an example that we should follow His steps. As all
rules are better understood when accompanied with examples,
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He visited this world to furnish an illustration of the perfect law

of God. In the human life of Christ we see the holiness of Deity
developed in the relationships, duties, and trials of humanity.
Let that life be our study. A painter will place before him some
fine production of his masters skill, gazing at it from day to day,
until its forms and tints are transferred to his own canvas.
His first efforts may be very rude, and so inferior to the original
that it would be difficult to trace any resemblance.But he is in
earnest, and by persevering efforts he daily makes some advance
towards the perfection at which he aims.
So let us place before us the life of Christ, and endeavor to
produce something like it. The more our mind is fixed on Him,
the more successful we shall be.
We must not look off too much even to the example of good
men. Their excellence is only an imperfect copy of the divine
Original. When men are our models, we are in danger of
imitating their blemishes as well as their beauties.
Let us, then, copy direct from the Master Himself. Let us act as
He acted; and in case of doubt, let us consider how He would
have been likely to act, had He been in our circumstances. It is
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a lofty standard; but the higher the mark, the higher the arrow
will fly, though it may not reach so far as we desire.
Our first efforts in copying after Christ maybe very clumsy, and
our fellow men may see nothing in our poor daub resembling
the perfect copy before us.
But Jesus will kindly encourage every sincere attempt; not
condemning our work because done in a bungling manner but
assisting us daily to make some progress, until at last
We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
Blessed Savior, help me to imitate the perfect pattern of Thy
holy life. Diligently watching Thy footsteps as my Guide, may I
tread in the same, fearing to venture where Thou hast not trod,
and never hesitating to go where Thou hast led?
Thus enable me, not in profession merely, but in daily
conformity to Thine own example, to be Thy follower.
See John 13:15; 1 Pet. 2:21.
FOLLOW JESUS AT ALL TIMES

Luke 18:1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end,
that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.
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SOME People follow Jesus only now and then. They are
religious at intervals, but not habitually. They sometimes seem
to run in haste after Jesus, and then stand still. In their
eagerness, they appear to condemn the slower pace of others;
yet it is evident that the patient plodders make much more
progress, and soon leave them far behind.
For those who follow by fits and starts do not renew their
journey from the place they had reached before, but from a
point much farther off. While they thought they were only
standing still, they were really slipping backwards.
Our religion should be a steady flame, always burning and
giving light, and not a fitful meteor, startling beholders for a
moment, but going out in darkness.
We should every day of our lives be making some progress,
quietly following Jesus without any pause; and never think we
can stand still because we went a long distance some time ago,
or because we intend hereafter to make up for lost time.
It is not a few extraordinary feats, a few very long days
journeys, that Christ requires; but that every day we should be
making some advance, every day be drawing nearer to Him, and
becoming more like unto Him.
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Some persons are very religious when affliction comes.

Disappointments, losses, vexations, drive them to devotion.
From a sickbed they send up many earnest petitions. At the side
of the grave where they have deposited a dear friend, they are
conscious of deep religious feeling. This however, passes away
with the sorrow that awakened it.
But the true Christian follows Jesus earnestly in times of joy as
well as of sadness, in the sunshine of prosperity as well as in the
tempest of trial. Some persons seem to think that there are times
for religion to be diligently cultivated, and other times for it to
be laid aside.
We ought to be very thankful for special religious privileges,
and seasons set apart for acts of direct worship, both public and
private, should be valued as the most precious hours of life; but
let us never suppose that if on Sabbath days, and during stated
times of worship, our hearts are under holy influences, at other
times Jesus may be banished from our minds altogether.
He should always be in our eye, and in His footsteps we should
on all days and at all times of the day, endeavor to tread. This
subject will be resumed in the following
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See Ps. 34:1; Luke 18:1; John 15:1-10; Rom. 12:11-12; Col.
3:17-23.
WHEN THE WAY IS SOLITARY:

Mat 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate,
and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and
many there be which go in there at: :14 Because strait is
the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life,
and few there be that find it.
FASHION IS powerful, and going with a crowd is pleasant.
Many follow the multitude to do evil. Others delight to go
up to the house of God in company. Some who seemed to be
Christians when all around them were so, become worldly
among new friends, proving that when they seemed to be
following Jesus, they were only following their fellow men.
And even true disciples are in danger of being discouraged
when the ways of Zion do mourn.
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When iniquity abounds, when it becomes singular to be an

earnest Christian, when we feel we are almost alone, we are apt
to become fainthearted. But we must remember that
Christianity is not made true by the number of its adherents,
and that the narrow path was never to be known by its
multitude of travelers.
Rather, we are told that few there be that find it. Blessed Lord,
let this be enough for me that Thou art in the road. Why should
I wait for or lean on others, when I have THEE before me. Oh,
help me to follow Thee, though all beside should choose the
other way.
It is enough if Thou wilt reveal thyself to me; for the road will
never be solitary when I can say, Thou art with me; Thy rod
and Thy staff, they comfort me.
See Matt. 7:13-14; John 6:66-68; 2 Tim. 4:16-18.
WHEN THE WAY IS DARK:

SOMETIMES THE road is very gloomy. This may arise from
constitutional temperament, and disease affecting the nervous
system. Many Christians, under such an affliction, impute to
the displeasure of God, or to their own wickedness, what the
physician would try to cure by medicine.
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But the effect is the same, and the road is obscured by the
shadow of death. This gloom may also arise from defective
views, from weak faith, from the fatherly chastisement of God.
We are led, for our good, through the valley of humiliation.
Even here, Jesus has preceded us, exclaiming, My God, My
God, why hast Thou forsaken Me! Let us follow Him.
The darkness is painful, but cannot hurt us. We can walk
through it towards the light. Let us, then, even when we walk in
darkness and see no light, still stay ourselves upon God, and
press forward after Jesus. Sometimes the way is dark on account
of our ignorance of what may be our duty hereafter.
The mountain road is often hidden in deep ravines and behind
projecting rocks. Mists also frequently hover over it, concealing
from view all that is more than a step in advance. Some travelers
stop, and try to ascertain in what direction the road will lead
them.
They will not proceed till they discover what course they will
take tomorrow. This is not the method to solve the difficulty.
Go forward to the darkness, and it will recede. The road is never
so gloomy but that we can see one step.
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Let us take that, and then we shall see another. The longest
journey was never taken by more than one step at a time. He
who travels seeing his road a hundred miles onward, will reach
the end no sooner than another who never sees more than a yard
before him, but who never hesitates.
If any man will do His will, he shall know of the
doctrine. I am the light of the world; he that followeth me
shall not walk in darkness.
See Isa. 1:10; Hos. 6:3; John 8:12; 21:18-22; Acts 1:6-8.
FOLLOW JESUS OPENLY:

Matthew 5:14:
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill
Cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put
it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth
light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so
shine before men, that they may see your good works,
and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
IT SHOULD not be a secret that we follow Jesus. Our religion
should be of such a kind that it cannot be concealed. The spirit
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of a true follower of Jesus so differs from that of a lover of this

world that it cannot but be seen.
If a band of travelers were passing through a town, you would
notice a difference between them and the residents. We are
travelers to the heavenly Jerusalem. Our treasure is on high.
Our Leader is Jesus. Here we have no continuing city.
If we are sincere, will it not be evident that we are not of the
world? It ought not to be necessary for us to say in words that
we follow Jesus. Our whole spirit and conduct, our motives,
tastes, habits, conversation, should all proclaim it.
It is not necessary to say of a fragrant rose that it smells sweetly,
when its perfume is filling the room. So a Christians testimony
to His Master should be unobtrusive, yet unavoidable.
But, besides this, there is the duty of outwardly confessing
Christ, by joining ourselves to His disciples in church
fellowship, and by commemorating His dying love at the
Lords Supper.
We should do this in obedience to His command, to testify our
love; to obtain the spiritual benefits to be expected in the use of
all the means of grace; to be strengthened by the sympathies,
prayers, and watchfulness of other Christians; to be identified
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with those who, whatever their imperfections, constitute the

band of loving witnesses for Christ, and the upholders of His
truth to the world.
Never let us be ashamed to confess Christ before men; but,
knowing that no profession of religion will of itself make us
Christians, although it does involve a solemn responsibility to
live consistently, let us earnestly pray that we may be enabled,
throughout our whole lives, to be faithful witnesses for the truth
of the gospel, living epistles of Christ, known and read of
all men.
See Matt. 5:14-16; 10:32; Mark 8:38; Acts 2:41-42; Rom.
10:9-10; 1 Cor. 11:23-29; 1 John4:15.
FOLLOW JESUS CHEERFULLY:

Philippians 4:4
Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. 5 Let
Your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at
hand.
RELIGION IS sometimes represented as a gloomy thing, whose
disciples give up enjoyment for the sake of repayment hereafter.
Sad mistake. We resign nothing that is worth keeping, and we
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receive in exchange what is infinitely more valuable than all the

world can give. Are not the love of Christ, and the joys of
following Him, better than all other pleasures?
Never let the worldly think that we envy them. No, we are
infinitely better off. Our pleasures are purer and deeper, as well
as more lasting. You know not what true happiness is. You see
what we lose, but not what we gain.
Neither do you perceive the sting that is beneath what you
enjoy. You deserve our pity, not our envy. The very poorest
outcast, who is a Christian, is happier than you. Help me, O
Jesus, to follow Thee, not as if I felt the way tediousnot as if
duty alone, or the hope of reward, bound me to Thee; but as one
who would not, if he might, follow any other.
With sober joyfulness, let me keep near Thee whithersoever
Thou leadest, and whatsoever cross Thou givest me to bear.
Thus may I truly represent Thy ways as ways of pleasantness,
and Thy paths as paths of peace.
See Prov. 3:17; Phil. 4:4; 1 Pet. 1:8.
The disciple of Jesus Christ must put his Master
above those nearest and dearest to him.
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If anyone comes to me, and does not hate his own father
and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters,
he cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:26).
We should all understand that Jesus did not mean by this that
we cannot love God and family at the same timethat we can
only love
God while hating those nearest and dearest to us.218 The
Scriptures speak too plainly elsewhere of our obligations to our
families, husbands, wives and children.
What our Lord means is that our love for Him must have
precedence over any other. Our attachment to Him must be
greater than any other. While husbands are to love their wives
(Ephesians 5:25), they are to love the Savior more.
No human relationship should be more intimate, no human
bond more inseparable than that between the disciple and his
Master.
We in America can hardly grasp the potential threat that family
ties pose to true discipleship. In the days of the New Testament
as well as down through church history, individuals have been
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confronted with the ultimatum to choose either Jesus or family,

but not both.
Many Christians have been totally disowned and disinherited
because of their faith in Christ, the Savior.
Several years ago when I was teaching school, I had a little
Jewish girl as a student. More than anything else in the world
she dreaded telling her parents of her new faith. She was a
handicapped child and to be put out by her family would
seemingly be disastrous.
Not only is our relationship to Christ to have priority over
family ties, our union with Him is to have precedence over all
human relationship. Friendship (or identification) with Christ
will inevitably result in enmity with the world.
If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before
it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love
its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose
you out of the world, therefore, the world hates you (John
15:18-19).
The disciple of Christ may not desire persecution, but he can
depend on it.
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A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his

master. It is enough for the disciple that he become as his
teacher, and the slave as his master. If they have called the
head of the house Beelzebub, how much more the members
of his household! (Matthew 10:24-25).
CHAPTER 8
The Rewards of Discipleship:
With the requirements of discipleship so demanding, we are not
greatly shocked that so few chose the path of discipleship to our
Lord. In fact, we may wonder why anyone would choose to do
so. Let me suggest several principles of discipleship which prove
to be compelling reasons for being a follower of Jesus Christ. As
we shall see, the rewards of discipleship make its requirements
look pale. The first principles of discipleship are found in
Matthews Gospel:
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Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I

will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from
Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find
rest for your souls (Matthew 11:28-30).
Principle 1: We must all have a master, and none is more
gentle than the Savior. The Scriptures make it clear that we are
the slaves of whatever it is that controls us (Romans 6:16). Some
are the slaves of the body and its appetites. Others submit to a
religious system. Our Lord described those enslaved in the
Judaism of their time as weary and heavy-laden (Matthew
11:28). It is hard to think of a more fitting description.
Ultimately, if we are not the servants of Jesus Christ we are
slaves to sin and to Satan (Romans 6:16). What a cruel
taskmaster he is!
In contrast, our Lord is gentle and humble in heart (Matthew
11:29). To be His disciple is not a dreary task, not a drudgery,
but a delight; not a burden, but a blessing. While the scribes and
Pharisees lorded it over the people and ruled in pride and
arrogance, Jesus gave His life for His sheep. He humble and
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gently leads His own. Though the path is rough, the way is sure,
for we have a gentle and skillful guide
.
Principle 2: Although the demands of discipleship are great,
He never requires of us anything which He does not enable us
to do.
We have seen that the requirements for discipleship are
rigorous. How, then, can Jesus speak of His burden as light
and His yoke as easy? Why is the way of the Jewish scribes and
Pharisees hard and their burden heavy? It is because they
demand much and do not give so much as one bit of help
(Matthew 23:4). But what our Lord expects, He enables us to
do. This is the crucial difference. Let us not think about the
demands of discipleship without also contemplating the
dynamic enablement which He provides to meet them.
Principle 3: It is only to His disciples that our Lord reveals His
innermost thoughts and most intimate secrets.
While our Lord spoke plainly to His disciples of His purposes,
these were carefully concealed from the masses. And He was
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not speaking to them without parables; but He was explaining

everything privately to His own disciples (Mark 4:34).
The reason for this was sought by His disciples, and the Lord
explained it when He said, To you has been given the mystery
of the Kingdom of God; but those who are outside get
everything in parables (Mark 4:11, cf. also verse 12).
Discipleship brings one into a level of intimacy with the Lord
that others cannot experience. It is to His intimate friends (cf.
John 15:15) that His intimate secrets are revealed.
Principle 4: Our rewards as disciples are based not on the
magnitude of our actions, but on their motive.
Many, in my opinion, shy away from discipleship because they
sense that they have little or nothing to contribute, and hence,
that their rewards will be few.
We have already established the principle that God does not
choose us on the basis of our potential contribution. He chooses
the foolish things of this world (1 Corinthians 1:26-31). The
basis for our rewards as disciples is defined in the Gospel of
Matthew:
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He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me

receives Him who sent me. He who receives a prophet in
the name of a prophet shall receive a prophets reward; and
he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous
man shall receive a righteous mans reward. And whoever
in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones
even a cup of cold water to drink, truly, I say to you he shall
not lose his reward (Matthew 10:40-42).
I understand from this text that rewards are based not so much
on the magnitude of our service, but on the sincerity of our
motives; not so much on the response to our service as on the
reason for it. If we are obedient to our Lord and live so as to
please Him, we shall have a reward.
Principle 5: Our great reward is Jesus Himself.
Whenever we begin to think about this matter of rewards and
blessing, let us never forget that He is our great reward. In the
book of Hebrews we are told that God is a rewarder of those
who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). God also told Abram, I am thy
shield, and thy exceeding great reward (Genesis 15:1 KJV).
If we seek to be followers of our Lord only for the fringe benefits
we have succeeded only in kicking materialism and self-interest
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out the front door while inviting them in through the back door.
He is our reward. The cost of discipleship is nothing compared
to the riches of fellowship with Him.
Principle 6: There is nothing which the Lord denies His
disciple which is for his ultimate good, and nothing which He
takes away which He does not replace with something better.
In the Garden of Eden, Satan succeeded in deceiving Eve into
thinking that what God forbade was really good and that in so
doing, God was not really good. Satan is always changing the
price tags and the labels. When we come to the matter of
discipleship, Satan wants us to dwell on the negative side of the
ledger. He wants us to ponder what we are missing. But God
withholds no good thing from those who follow Him:
For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord gives grace and
glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk
uprightly (Psalm 84:11; cf. Psalm 34:10).
But even more than this, what God takes away He replaces with
something even better. Look at these words from the Gospel of
Mark, chapter 10:
Jesus said, Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left
house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or
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farms, for My sake and for the gospels sake, but that he shall
receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses
and brothers and sisters and mothers (notice the omission of
father) and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in
the world to come, eternal life (Mark 10:29-30).
Do you see the principle behind this promise? God only
withholds what is not for our good. What He does withhold, He
replaces with something far better. Now Christianity is often
accused of promising pie in the sky, bye and bye.
And, with certain qualifications, we must say this is surely true.
WE SHOULD FOLLOW JESUS BECAUSE OF WHAT

HE HAS DONE FOR US:
A. He willingly laid down his life for us because he loved us.
1. John 10:17-18 ""Therefore My Father loves me, because
I lay down my life that I may take it again. 18- No one takes
it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay
it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I
have received from My Father.
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2. John 15:13 - "Greater love has no man than this, that a

man lay down his life for his friends."
B. He gave His body as a sacrifice for our sins.
1. Hebrews 10:10, 14, 20- "By that will we have been
sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ
once for all....14- For by one offering He has perfected
forever those who are being sanctified....20- by a new and
living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil,
that is, His flesh,"
2. Romans 3:25 - "whom God set forth as a propitiation by
His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His
righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed
over the sins that were previously committed,"
3. 1 Peter 2:24 - "who Himself bore our sins in His own body
on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for
righteousness; by whose stripes you were healed."
C. He was resurrected to give us victory over the grave.
1. Romans 4:25 - "Who was delivered for our offences, and was
raised again for our justification."
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2. 1 Corinthians 15:17-20 "And if Christ is not risen, your faith

is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have
fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19- If in this life only we
have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. 20- But
now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first
fruits of those who have fallen asleep."
The words of the song are very powerful.
Where you go, I'll go Where you stay, I'll stay
When you move, I'll move I will follow...
All your ways are good All your ways are sure
I will trust in you alone Higher than my side
High above my life I will trust in you alone
Where you go, I'll
When you move,
Who you love, I'll
If this life I lose, I
go. Where you stay, I'll stay.

I'll move. I will follow you.
love. How you serve I'll serve.
will follow you I will follow you.
Light
world
unto
the
Light
unto
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my
life
I will live for you alone You're the one I seek

Knowing I will find All I need in you alone, in you alone
WE SHOULD FOLLOW JESUS BECAUSE OF WHAT HE
CAN DO FOR US:
A. He can give true rest for our labors.
1. He can give rest both now and in eternity.
2. Matthew 11:28 "Come unto me, all you that labor and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
3. Revelation 14:13 - "Then I heard a voice from heaven saying
to me, "Write: 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from
now on.' " "Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their
labors, and their works follow them.""
B. He can save us from our sins.
1. Hebrews 7:25 - "Therefore He is also able to save to the
uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He
always lives to make intercession for them."
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C. He can give us the strength to overcome great obstacles.

1. Philippians 4:13 - "I can do all things through Christ who
strengthens me."
WE SHOULD FOLLOW JESUS BECAUSE OF WHAT

HE WILL DO:
The motivation for following Christ should not be just to get the
benefits. We follow Him because He is who He claimed to be,
the Savior and Messiah. But He graciously reassures us by
telling us of the promised benefits.
A.YOU GET BLESSINGS IN THIS LIFE.

If you give up anything for Christ, He promises that you will
receive many times (Mark 10:30 says 100 times) as much at this
time. If I could offer you an investment that is guaranteed to
make you 100 percent, you would jump at it! But Jesus offers
you an investment that pays 10,000 percent in this life, backed
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by the bank of heaven! Everyone who forsakes all to follow

Christ is grossly overpaid! How can you refuse such an offer?
B. He will come again.
1. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 "But I do not want you to be
ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen
asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14- For
if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God
will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 15- For this
we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive
and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means
precede those who are asleep. 16- For the Lord Himself will
descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an
archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in
Christ will rise first. 17- Then we who are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet
the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the
Lord."
2. Titus 2:13 - "Looking for that blessed hope, and the
glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus
Christ;"
B. He will come as Savior to those who are prepared.
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Hebrews 9:27-28
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this
the judgment: 28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins
of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear
the second time without sin unto salvation."
C. but He will come as Judge. 1. 2 Corinthians 5:10
CHAPTER 9
BIBLE KNOWLEDGE:
The Bible is the only source of knowledge of how to know and
love the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no such thing as "love at first
sight" in spiritual things. The believer must get to know Christ
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very well, and this requires the daily intake of knowledge about
Christ through the Word of God, which is "the mind of Christ."
1 Cor. 2:16 "For who hath known the mind of the Lord,
that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ."
Phil. 3:10 "That I may know him, and the power of his
resurrection, and the fellowship of his suffering, being
made conformable unto his death."
Bible knowledge produces sanity and stability of mind. It is very
important to get the Word of God into the mind before the
times of pressure come. It is not too likely that an unstable
person will respond to the Word of God. God deals with the
pressures of life using "preventive maintenance".
James 1:8 "A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways
If you wish to follow Jesus, the best way to learn how to do it is
to prayerfully read the Bible. In his first letter to a young
Christian leader named Timothy (a letter that became part of
the Bibles New Testament) the Apostle Paul encouraged him
to devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture
1 Timothy 4:13 NIV
And Pauls second letter to Timothy added this explanation:
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All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what

is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It
straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God's
way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good
thing God wants us to do. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT
Reading the Bible may seem like an overwhelming task. After
all, it is a big thick book filled with strange-sounding names and
places. But it is well worth the effort. Reading while taking my
daily walk on a treadmill, it takes me a little longer than a year
to read the whole Bible, cover to cover.
Having done this for years, I can no longer count how many
times Ive read it. Each time, I notice things I had not noticed
before, learn new things and grow stronger in faith.
Each time I read through the Bible from cover to cover, I use a
different translation. You may want to start out with a
translation like the New Century Version (NCV) that renders
the original Hebrew and Greek into simple English that is easy
to understand.
Can an ordinary person really read the Bible and understand it?
Well, there are plenty of preachers who will tell you Noeither
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directly or subtly telling you that you need professional help to

understand the Bible.
They will gladly encourage you to listen to them instead of
reading the Bible on your own. In fact, there were times in
European history when church leaders and clergymen actively
prevented people from reading Scripture, and even made doing
so punishable by death. Lovers of the Bible like William
Tyndale and John Huss were burned at the stake in the early
1500s for translating the Scriptures into their local language so
that ordinary people could read the Bible.
Corrupt church leaders at that time, eager to hold on to power
and money, jealously guarded their position as the official
interpreters of Gods written Word.
Jesus said, I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
because you have hidden these things from the wise and
learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father,
for this is what you were pleased to do. Matthew 11:2526 NIV
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Simple, uneducated people can grasp the Gospel message when

prayerfully reading the Bible, while highly-educated
professionals often miss the point despite their scholarly study.
It is written in the Scriptures: I will cause the wise to lose
their wisdom; I will make the wise unable to understand.
[Isaiah 29:14] Where is the wise person? Where is the
educated person? Where is the skilled talker of this world?
. . . Brothers and sisters, look at what you were when God
called you. Not many of you were wise in the way the
world judges wisdom. . . . God chose the foolish things of
the world to shame the wise . . . 1 Corinthians 1:19-27
NCV
So, dont ever feel that you are unqualified to read the Bible on
your own. Pray for understanding, and God will open up the
meaning of the Scriptures to you as you read.
If you are reading the Bible for the first time, you may find it
helpful to begin with the New Testament, starting in the Gospel
of Matthewso that you will be introduced right away to Jesus
and his teachings.
People alone cannot provide this spiritual guidance.
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Many learned men do not even attempt to provide answers for

the meaning and purpose of life and other serious spiritual
questions. If they do try, they cannot prove their answers are
right or wrong, and they often contradict one another.
Jeremiah 10:23 - The way of man is not in himself; It is not in
man who walks to direct his own steps.
You need to find and study a source of spiritual direction and
guidance from someone who really knows the answers. [Isaiah
55:8,9]
The Bible claims that it teaches the true answers to
these questions.
Psalms 119:105 - Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to
my path.
John 17:17 - Your word is truth.
2 Timothy 3:16,17 - All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for instruction in righteousness, that the man
of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good
work.
Bible teaching affirms that belief in the gospel of Jesus Christ
and Christian teaching will give the spiritual direction you need
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to show you the meaning and purpose of life. It claims that you
can find these answers in God's word if you will diligently study
the Scriptures.
WHY WE BELIEVE THE BIBLE?

Forty men from all walks of life over the course of 1500 years
wrote portions of the Bible without contradicting each
other. The writers include kings, peasants, philosophers,
fishermen, tax collectors, poets, musicians, physicians, teachers,
statesmen, lawyers and shepherds. It has been translated into
2,200 languages - more than any book in existence.
The entire Bible is one book, has one author, the Holy Spirit,
and has one purpose or theme - to show the fall of man and
Gods way to redeem him. For example, you cannot
understand the book of Revelation in the N.T. unless you study
the books of Genesis and Daniel in the O.T. You cannot
understand the book of Hebrews in the N.T. unless you study
the book of Leviticus in the O.T.
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The O.T. and the N.T. are one book; one complements the
other
Do you harbor doubts about the Bible? That should not be
surprising, because this world in rebellion against God has
surrounded us with attacks against the Bible. Public schools
teach that life on earth came originated through a series of
chemical accidents, without the need for a divine Creator.
They teach that mankind came into existence because animals
went through a long series of accidental mutations and survival
of the fittest, contradicting the Bibles declaration that God
created man in his own image. (Gen. 1:27)
There are many scientific facts recorded in the Bible.
1) The scientific fact concerning the shape of the earth.
When the Italian scientist Galileo announced his finding that
the earth was round, the people revolted against him and
considered him a blasphemer. He was thrown in prison for
being a heretic, however, twenty centuries before Galileo, Isaiah
the prophet wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit:
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Have ye not known? Have ye not heard? Has it not been

told you from the beginning? Have ye not understood from
the foundation of the earth? It is He that sitteth upon the
circle of the earth (Is. 40:21-22).
2) The scientific fact concerning the revolution of the earth

around itself.
The prophet Job two thousand years B.C. said He stretcheth
out the north over an empty place, and hangeth the earth upon
nothing (Job 26:7).
The American Astronaut, James Erwin said: The most
wonderful thing I saw on my trip to the moon was seeing the
earth like a globe floating in a vast space."
3) The scientific discovery of the science of meteorology
concerning the water cycle.
The Lord questioned Job and said to him,
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Who has divided a channel for the overflowing water, or

a path for the thunderbolt, to cause it to rain on a land
where there is no one, a wilderness in which there is no
man. To satisfy the desolate waste, and cause to spring
forth the growth of tender grass?(Job 38:25-27).
4) The scientific facts of the importance of the blood.

(Lev. 17:11). For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I
have given it to you upon the alter to make atonement for
your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the
soul
5) The scientific fact of the atomic energy.
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some
count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing
that any should perish but that all should come to
repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in
the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great
noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both
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the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up (2

Peter 3:9-11).
6) The scientific facts concerning genetics.
Then God said , let the earth bring forth grass, the herb
that yields seed , and the fruit tree that yield fruit after its
kind, whose seed is in itself on the earth and it was so. And
the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed after
its kind" (Gen. 1:11-12)
7) The scientific fact about the effect of the moon
The sun shall not smite you by day nor the moon by
night (Ps. 121:6).
8) The scientific Fact that the moon has no light in itself.
The prophet Job again said: Behold even the moon, and it
shines not (Job 25:5).
The public media surround us with explanations of this world,
its history and current events that completely ignore God and
the Bible. Even many clergymen ridicule the Bible and dismiss
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it as a book filled with myths, fairy tales and contradictions

interesting poetic literature, but not to be taken seriously in
much of what it says.
So, when considering the invitation to follow Jesus, you may
find it necessary to examine the Bible to prove to yourself that it
is what it claims to be, the inspired written Word of God.
The Bible makes claims about the creation of the universe, the
nature of the God who created the universe and reigns
supremely over it, and the fate of mankind. If these claims are
true, then the Bible is the most important book in the history of
mankind.
If the Bible is true, then it holds the answers to lifes biggest
questions: From where did I come? Why am I here? and
What happens to me when I die? The importance of the
Bibles message demands it receive fair consideration, and the
truthfulness of its message is observable, testable, and able to
withstand scrutiny.
The writers of the Bible claim that the Bible is Gods very Word.
The apostle Paul writes that all Scripture is God-breathed (2
Timothy 3:16). That is to say, all the words recorded in the
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original writing of Scripture originated from the mouth of God

before ever reaching the minds and pens of the biblical writers.
The apostle Peter also writes that prophecy never had its origin
in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from
God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter
1:21).
The phrase carried along is indicative of a sail being propelled
by the wind. That is, the writing of Scripture was directed by the
Holy Spirit. The Bible does not originate with man and is, then,
a product of God and carries the authority of God.
The internal evidence of Scriptures veracity provides many
compelling arguments for why one should believe the Bible.
First, the unique message of the Bible sets it apart from other
religious texts. The Bible, for instance, teaches that mankind is
inherently evil and deserving of eternal death.
If man were responsible for the content of the Bible, the view of
humanity would not be so darkwe tend to make ourselves
look good. The Bible also teaches that humans can do nothing
of themselves to remedy their natural state. This, too, goes
against human pride.
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The Bible was written in various environments (desert, prison,

royal court, etc.). Three different languages were used to write
the Bible, and, despite covering controversial subjects, it carries
one harmonious message. The circumstances surrounding the
writing of the Bible would seem to guarantee its fallibility, and,
yet, the message from Genesis to Revelation is uncannily
consistent.
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What Is The Best Bible To Use?
Many people are confused by the large number of different bible

translations available. This has come about because the Bible
was written in three original languages Hebrew (most of the
Old Testament) Aramaic (some of the OT) and Greek trade
language of the 1st century known as koine Greek (the New
Testament). There are basically four types of bibles depending
on how they choose to do the translation process:
Literal translations: These translate the bible with word by
word and are very accurate. While they are very faithful to the
original text they can be somewhat clumsy when put into
English. Literal translations include the King James Version,
The New King James Version, the Revised Standard Version,
the New Revised Standard Version, and the New American
Standard Bible. My favorites here are the New American
Standard Bible and the New King James version.
Dynamic translations: Are translated phrase by phrase or
concept by concept. They are still quite accurate but not as
literally accurate as those above. They are much easier to read
and understand. They include the Good News Bible, the new
international Version, The Contemporary English Version and
many others. The NIV is the best dynamic translation. For
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people using English as a second language the Contemporary

English version is excellent.
Paraphrases: Very loose translations of the bible they rearrange
the material within each paragraph so it flows smoothly and put
the bible into very contemporary concepts. They should not be
used for in-depth bible study but are very easy for daily bible
reading. Many find them helpful but personally I do not use
them. They include the Message, the Living Bible, the New
Living Bible, and many others.
Wrong or Misleading Translations: These include the New
World Translation of the Jehovah's Witnesses and other
versions produced by cults. It also includes the Amplified Bible
which includes words in brackets that can seriously mislead
some readers.
From all the above here are my recommendations:
Translations: You should use the most accurate version
available in your heart language. It should also be sufficiently
modern for you to read it easily. The King James or Authorized
Version is a very accurate Bible but was written four centuries
ago in a different form of English known as Elizabethan
English. Many of the words it uses are now obsolete or have
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changed meaning for instance the word "prevent" means "to go

before" in the King James Version and the word "handsome"
means sly and tricky - not attractive. So because it can confuse
people I do not generally recommend the King James Version.
The New King James Version is an equally accurate translation
with more modern English and is the main one I use. Other
good translations include: NASB (New American Standard
Bible), NRSV (New Revised Standard Version), and the NIV
(New International Version). Some easy to read but not so
accurate translations include The Living Bible (LB), The New
Living Bible (NLB),
The Message, the Good News Bible (GNB) and the
Contemporary English Version (CEV). Avoid some poor
translations such as the New World Translation by the
Jehovah's Witnesses and the Amplified Bible - both contain
serious errors. I mainly use the New King James Version and
the New American Standard Bible as they are very accurate
translations.
Study Bibles: A study bible is a bible translation plus footnotes
that explain the text and help the reader to grasp its message.
They are very useful and every Christian should own one. The
NIV 10
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Study Bible is the bible I give to people when they are converted.
The NIV translation is easy to read, quite accurate and the notes
and helps in the NIV Study Bible are excellent. The Open Bible
with a New King James Version translation would also be a very
good choice.
If you want just one Bible version the ones I recommend are The
Open Bible, the Thompson Chain Reference Bible and the NIV
Study Bible. The Open Bible and the Thompson Chain
Reference have the advantage of having a variety of translations
available in their formats.
Pray this prayer of salvation Now

Lord Jesus come to You as a sinner, lost and condemned to
Hell. l repent of my sins and ask for your forgiveness believe
with all my heart that You died on the cross and rose again on
the third for my sins open my heart to You and receive You as
my Lord and personal savior. Please take control of my life and
make me what You want me to be. Amen!
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BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Here are some books that I recently read, along with some
others, that carry an understanding, in our opinion, of
Discipleship:
John Piper, Desiring God
C.S Lewis.
Newman Hall, Follow Jesus
Rev. W. L Remsberg (Public domain.)
Peter Wagner, Freedom from the Religious Spirit, Regal
Books, 2005
George Otis, Jr., Informed Intercession, Renew Books, 1999
(A textbook on spiritual mapping)
Myles Munroe, Rediscovering the Kingdom, Destiny Image
Publishers, Inc., 2004 (Powerful insights on the Kingdom)
elvismusindo
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Pastor Elvis Musindo

Founder and president of Kingdom Invasion For all nations, a nondenominational Organization.
Pastor Elvis is a spiritual son of Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa
(U.F.I.C), He is an interdenominational preacher and a conference
speaker, who is based in South Africa Gauteng. He received his call
from God at the age of eighteen, God has been using him to
perform tremendous healing sessions in different churches around
Africa .He is Anointed and ordained to bring the atmosphere of
Heaven on earth by invading all nations of the world with the
gospel of Jesus Christ in power.
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THE FORBIDDEN

Copyright 2016 Elvis Musindo

Pray This Prayer Of Salvation

See then that ye walk

mere victim of common male insensitivity to women (Luke.

The Jews were acquainted with many of the prophecies about

to their list of gods to provide a service in their need for spiritual

Council. He never submitted to Caiaphas. He was never a

WHO IS THIS MAN?

He fed thousands of people from a boys lunch! He never wrote

Him kindly for His loving concern. He came to seek and to

that turned away many and alienated the establishment. His

Christianity is not a religion and it never was!, Religion is a loser

the early church, the stoning of Stephen, the disciples scattered

Throughout the early church period until the time of the

What? The Roman church has been misleading people for

that marry remained a virgin is a lie! (Matthew 1:25,

The general assembly and church of the firstborn who are

Does it matter which one you choose to fellowship with? Yes, it

changes its character, which often happens as different

accountJudas Iscariot who later betrayed Jesus. (John 12:6)

Avoid groups that claim their particular group is the only

The Apostle Paul was glad when his listeners

Received the message with great eagerness and examined

If you want to follow Jesusand not be misled by church

So, when we fellowship with others, our focus should be on

apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles,

DISCIPLESHIP OF JESUS CHRIST:

Repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion

The word disciple comes from the Greek word mathetes,

worshipping, loving, giving, and evangelizing group of men and

The relationship between the disciple and his teacher is not

They took Jesuss call literally and began going everywhere He

Christian. But then why do so many people live this way? It

When Jesus called the original disciples to follow him, it was

great banquet, indicating that the kingdom of God was going to

He invites you to come into this relationship as his follower. But

Discipleship is more than a call; it is a lifestyle that is never to

Discipleship is also reciprocal. That is, when one learns, he/she

common. And they were selling their possessions and

A similar account is found in Judges 7:122. There God wanted

There are three components that define true discipleship. The

that could be more important that this! It is even more

animal will tear at another animal's weakness and frailty. We

example of the way the Philippian believers are to act toward

We as Christians have a debt to pay because of our gratitude for

Jesus concludes the commission with the crucial element of

werent prepared to fight this king, then you would do whatever

We get a picture of this when we read the book of Exodus. In

By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is

will above Gods and to take back rights which were

todays world someone who believes; but the word Disciple

rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is

or ways of approaching interpretation of the Torah and the

A disciple became the pupil of a rabbi as a young teen-ager and

The following context shows that the narrow door leads to

It is a question of life or death, salvation or destruction, the

The testimonies of Jesus' early disciples, recorded in John 1

from God, from goodness, from truth, from sanity, from

Paul told a pagan audience that, The times of ignorance

servants to commit sexual immorality, and to eat things

The disciple is called to Lay something down-Deny Himself.

not truly following Him. He concludes by warning, He who

Jesus is not asking if you will commit 20%, 30%, or 50% to