\n\t\t\t\t\t\tDownload Audio\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\tText: Matthew 28:18-20<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. No one name is used to describe a person.<\/p>\n A. A single word cannot encompass all that a person is. I could be called a preacher,\nbut I’m also a father, a husband, a writer, a teacher, a computer scientist, a singer,\nand many other things.\n
B. Similarly one word doesn’t describe God’s people.<\/p>\n
1. They are called “Christians” because they follow Christ – I Peter 4:16<\/p>\n 2. “Saints” because they have been set apart for a holy purpose – Ephesians\n1:1\n
3. “Priests” because they serve the living God – I Peter 2:9<\/p>\n
4. “Brethren” because they are a part of God’s family – Colossians 1:2<\/p>\n C. But the word used frequently in the New Testament for God’s people is\n“disciple.”\n
II. What is a disciple?<\/p>\n
A. The Greek word is mathetes<\/i>, which means a pupil, a student, or a learner.<\/p>\n
B. A disciple learns<\/p>\n 1. “If one claims to be a disciple of Abraham Lincoln or Thomas Jefferson,\nhe should be a student of those men. He should study their writings, their\nbooks, and their letters. In short, he should be interested in reading and\nstudying everything available from those men.” [Thayer’s Greek-English\nLexicon of the New Testament<\/i>, “mathetes” entry]\n
2. God draws people to be taught and to learn – John 6:44-45<\/p>\n
3. It is the burden Jesus requests of us – Matthew 11:28-30<\/p>\n
4. Diligence in the word – II Timothy 2:15<\/p>\n 5. An infant cannot be a disciple of Christ because they are yet unable to\nlearn\n
C. A disciple applies his lessons<\/p>\n 1. People can learn a lot about other people or subjects which they never plan\nto apply to their own life.\n a. I might study a particular denomination’s teachings in depth so that\nI might instruct others about its errors\n b. But my knowledge concerning the denomination doesn’t mean I\nam a disciple of that denomination.\n
2. A disciple of Christ must live by Christ’s words – John 8:31<\/p>\n
3. A disciple must live within Christ’s teachings – II John 9<\/p>\n
4. Continuing in the word by doing – James 1:25<\/p>\n
D. A disciple gives priority to his teacher<\/p>\n 1. When we refer to someone as a disciple, we don’t mean they have a casual\ninterest in their subject. A disciple is consumed with learning from his\nteacher.\n
2. Family and other people come a distant second – Luke 14:26<\/p>\n
3. Things are not important – Luke 14:33<\/p>\n 4. Paul’s considered everything a loss compared to knowing Christ –\nPhilippians 3:8\n
E. A disciple endures<\/p>\n 1. At times lessons are hard to understand. You wouldn’t expect a disciple to\ngive up just because he runs into some difficulty.\n
2. Luke 14:27 – Bearing our cross<\/p>\n
3. A daily effort – Luke 9:23-25<\/p>\n
4. There will be persecutions – II Timothy 3:12<\/p>\n
5. We enter the kingdom through many tribulations – Acts 14:21-22<\/p>\n
F. A disciple teaches <\/p>\n
1. Bearing much fruit – John 15:8<\/p>\n
2. Making disciples – Matthew 28:19-20<\/p>\n
3. There is a time we all ought to be teachers – Hebrews 5:11-14<\/p>\n
III. Are you a disciple of Christ or merely a pew warmer?<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: Matthew 28:18-20 I. No one name is used to describe a person. A. A single word cannot encompass all that a person is. I could be called a preacher, but I’m also a father, a husband, a writer, a teacher, a computer scientist, a singer, and many other things.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[642,1394],"class_list":["post-62207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-christianity","tag-disciples"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":91352,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/disciples-seek-to-follow-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":62207,"position":0},"title":"Disciples Seek to Follow Jesus","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 17, 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