THE NATURE OF DISCIPLESHIP

We have been called out of this world into the kingdom of God,

out of darkness into light.

out of bondage into freedom,

out of independence into fellowship with Y'shua.

"Yahweh is faithful, by whom you were called unto the fellowship of His Son Y'shua the Messiah our Lord." 1 Corinthians 1: 9

"And this is life eternal, that they might know You the only true God, and Y'shua the Messiah whom You have sent." John 17:3

1. RELATIONSHIP

Relationship is the essence of discipleship. To follow Him we must know where He is going, what His purposes are, and how He is going to achieve them. A unity must be established for this to be possible. To become one with Him we will need to be yoked together with Him in a relationship that originates out of a coupling together with Him. That is being harnessed together with him, so as to be in step with Him.

Y'shua said, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart and you shall find rest unto your souls." Matthew 11:29

There must be a harnessing together with Him to be able to walk with Him. We must be brought under the yoke to go the same way as Him, and in the process of walking with Him, we shall come to know Him and understand His ways. Only by being alongside Him, keeping in step with Him, shall there be the bonding and harmony to establish a relationship.

To effect that bond we must separate ourself from all other claims upon us. He must have first claim upon our life. Our devotion and loyalty must be to Him firstly and from that basis, to others.

"Thou shalt love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself." Luke 10:27

Having established a relationship it must be guarded and maintained!

2. SERVICE

All our service must originate out of devotion to Him.

Love is the motivating force of serving Him.

It is only out of relationship with the King that we can go and serve Him as our sovereign – the ruler of our life. We must intimately know Him whom we represent. To be able to be His ambassadors we must know His mind and be able to speak on His behalf.

Y'shua said, " Take my yoke upon you.....

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:29,30

Service born out of relationship is not burdensome. To be a co-heir with Messiah and therefore a co-labourer with Him is a privilege and a joy. It is a labour of love undertaken WITH Him and FOR Him.

When Y'shua called His disciples to Himself, He commissioned them to serve. He said, "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men" Matthew 4:19

"And when He had called unto Him His twelve disciples He gave them power " Matthew 10:10

The desire to serve will come forth out of identification with Him and His purposes.

A disciple has a serving heart - Y'shua is our example.

He said that He was among us as one who serves (Luke 22:27) See John 13:13-17

"For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily I say unto you, the servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent than he that sent him." v15,16

3. OBEDIENCE

Y'shua said, "If you love me, keep my commandments" John 14:15

"If a man love me, he will keep my words" :23

Y'shua said not everyone who calls Him "lord, lord" will enter into the kingdom, but those who do the will of the Father.

In Matthew 7:21 both the wise and the foolish men heard the word of the Lord. The difference between them was that the wise man obeyed and became a doer of the Word. Being a hearer is not sufficient!

"For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous." 1 John 5:3

"If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed; and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." John 8:31

The Pharisees were religious but did not obey the Word of God. Having a religious heritage did not secure their eternal destiny. See John 8:31-47

They did not hold onto, or 'continue', in the teachings of Jesus, theirs was only an outward form of religion which gave them a false sense of security. See the parable of the publican - Luke 18:10

Obedience establishes us in the truth and brings us into liberty (John.7:16,17) We need a sound basis of teaching to become a disciple and walk in His ways.

The heart of a disciple is to hear the Word of God and obey it!

For His sake!