Five Marks of a Disciple

Luke 9:23-25    Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. ²⁴For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. ²⁵What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?

WHAT MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME

My mother taught me RELIGION: When I spilled grape juice on the carpet, she instructed, "You better pray the stain will come out of the carpet."

My mother taught me LOGIC: From her decisive words, "Because I said so, that’s why."

My mother taught me FORESIGHT: "Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you’re in an accident."

My mother taught me IRONY: "Keep laughing, and I’ll give you something to cry about."

My mother taught me about STAMINA: "You’ll sit there ’til all that spinach is finished."

My mother taught me about WEATHER: "It looks as if a tornado swept through your room."

My mother taught me THE CIRCLE OF LIFE: "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION: "Stop acting like your father!"

1) a Teachable Heart  . .  a Disciple must have one

John 8:31    To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. ³²Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

One of the things I love about the disciples is that – for the most part – they had a teachable heart. For example, in Luke 11, Scripture records that they came to Jesus and asked the question, “Lord, will You teach us to pray.” They didn’t say “Pray for us.” Although there is nothing wrong with asking someone to pray for us, they went a step farther and asked, “Lord, teach us to pray.”

“Are you teachable?” Here are 10 thoughts to help you discover if you are teachable:

1. I am willing to listen more than talk.

2. I admit when I am mistaken.

3. I observe before acting on a situation.

4. I am able to agree to disagree.

5. I desire information more than answers.

6. I enjoy asking questions.

7. I am open to suggestions and new ideas.

8. I feel comfortable asking for advice or directions.

9. I enjoy reading for information that is practical and applicable.

10. I can appreciate criticism without being deeply wounded.

2) A Genuine love  . .  a Disciple must show it.

John 13:34, 35   ³⁴"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Let me tell you a story about Danny. Danny was born with no ears. He could hear all right, but he didn’t have ears like normal people. All his life, Danny endured ridicule and rejection because of his deformity. But he learned to live with it. Thankfully, he had loving parents and a strong family to sustain him. When Danny was in high school, his doctor told him of a new procedure that made it possible to transplant ears from one person to another. That meant Danny could get new ears if someone who was compatible to him ever donated theirs. This was exciting news. After all, people donated body parts all the time—hearts, lungs, kidneys. But Danny soon found that donor ears were extremely scarce. Danny didn’t give up hope, however. He knew that someday he would get new ears. He graduated from high school with honors and was accepted at a major university thousands of miles away. He kissed his parents good-bye and began his life as a college student. Again, though, he found it hard to make friends and fit in because of his ears. One day he got a phone call from his father. “Go to the hospital tomorrow, Danny. A donor has been found.” The very next day Danny checked into the university hospital where doctors were ready to perform the surgery. A few hours later, Danny had new ears. When the bandages came off, Danny gazed into the mirror for hours. He finally had ears like normal people. For the first time in his life, he wasn’t ashamed of the way he looked. He not only had new ears, he had a new life. A few weeks later, Danny received another phone call from his father. “Son, your mother is very ill,” his father said. “She may not live through the night.” Danny was on the first plane home. When he arrived, his father gave him the sad news that his mother had died. Together they went to the funeral home, where Danny was able to see his mother for the last time. He leaned over to kiss her cheek. Brushing her hair back from her face, he noticed that she had no ears. It was a mother’s incredible, genuine love that provided Danny with new ears.

Genuine love

3) Spiritual Fruit  . .  a Disciple must bear it

John 15:8

 ⁵"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. ⁸This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

There are no short cuts to maturity. It takes years for us to grow to adulthood, and it takes a full season for fruit to mature and ripen. The same is true for the fruit of the Spirit. The development of Christlike character cannot be rushed. Spiritual growth, like physical growth, takes time. When you try to ripen fruit quickly, it loses its flavor. In America, tomatoes are usually picked unripened so they won’t bruise during shipping to the stores. Then, before they are sold, these green tomatoes are sprayed with CO2 gas to turn them red instantly. Gassed tomatoes are edible, but they are no match to the flavor of a vine-ripened tomato that is allowed to mature slowly.

4) A personal cross  . . . a Disciple must carry it.

Luke 14:27   ²⁷And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

Each one of us has a cross to bear.

You cannot say that you want to be more like Jesus and not be willing to carry a cross.

Jesus carried His and we must carry ours.

A young man was at the end of his rope. Seeing no way out he dropped to his knees in prayer. "Lord, I can’t go on," he said. "I have too heavy a cross to bear." The Lord replied, "My son, if you can’t bear its weight, just place your cross inside this room. Then open that other door and pick out any cross you wish." The young man was filled with relief. "Thank you Lord," he sighed, and he did what he was told. Upon entering the other door, he saw many other crosses, some so large the tops weren’t even visible. Then he spotted a tiny cross leaning against the far wall. "I’d like that one Lord," he whispered. And the Lord replied, "My son, that is the cross you just brought in."

Your cross and my cross come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

And the cross you bear is something that the Lord trusts you with.

One of my crosses is that I am a single dad.

For some of you, your cross is a health issue.

Perhaps your cross is a parent who mistreated you.

Perhaps your cross is a child with special needs.

Perhaps your cross is a rebellious teenager.

May I remind you that the Lord will never give you a cross that you cannot bear.

There is a promise from God’s word that is found in 2 Corinthians 10:12 that says that the Lord will never give us anything beyond what we can bear.

One Sunday, a pastor was teaching on the topic of marriage. At the end of the service he was giving out small wooden crosses to each married couple. He said, "Place this cross in the room in which you fight the most and you will be reminded of God’s commands and you won’t argue as much." One woman came up after the service and said, "You’d better give me five."

Luke 9:23, 24

²³Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. ²⁴For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. ²⁵What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?

5) An understanding of the cost  . . . a Disciple must finish well.

Moms . . . you can testify that it has not been easy fulfilling your role as a mom. But you didn’t give up. Being a mom cost you something. It cost you  . . having to wake up in the middle of the night; cooking dinner when you just didn’t feel like it; driving to school to take little Johnny some medication; being a mom has cost you a whole lot of quiet time; it cost you a few new dresses because your teenager needed braces. Being a mom comes with a cost.

Likewise, for every single one of us, when it comes to our spiritual life – we must realize that it comes with a cost.

Luke 14:28-30

 ²⁸"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? ²⁹For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, ³⁰saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'

Cheap grace is forgiveness without repentance, baptism without sanctification, petition without intercession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, mercy without the cross, eternity without Jesus Christ.”

I don’t know where you are in your spiritual life, and I don’t know when you gave your heart to the Lord and began your spiritual journey, but I will say this . . . it doesn’t matter when you started, what really matters is if you finish.

A true disciple does not give up!