Sabbath: The Call to Discipleship
Read for This Week’s Study: Luke 5:1-11, Luke Luke 6:12-16, Luke Luke 9:1-6, Matt. 10:5-15, Luke 10:1-24, Luke 9:23-25, Matt. 16:24-28.
Memory Text: Then He said to them all,
(Luke 9:23, NKJV).If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me
Disciple means a follower, or a pupil. The word disciple occurs more than 250 times in the Bible, mostly but not exclusively in the Gospels and Acts.
Being a disciple energizes the spirit, challenges the mind, and demands our utmost in our relationship with God and our fellowmen. Without total allegiance to Christ and the demands of His life and message, there can be no discipleship. What higher calling could one have?
God takes men as they are, and educates them for His service, if they will yield themselves to Him. The Spirit of God, received into the soul, will quicken all its faculties. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the mind that is devoted unreservedly to God develops harmoniously, and is strengthened to comprehend and fulfill the requirements of God. The weak, vacillating character becomes changed to one of strength and steadfastness. Continual devotion establishes so close a relation between Jesus and His disciple that the Christian becomes like Him in mind and character.
–Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 251.
This week well look at how Jesus called those who were to follow Him and see what lesson we can learn that can help us in our continuation of the work that He had started on earth.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, April 25.
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What higher calling could one have?
True indeed. I personally must thank Jesus for choosing someone like me. To do the highest work entrusted to men, having to work in Gods 'Operations', under Jesus' 'administration', through the 'gifts' of the Holy Spirit in the grand work of saving souls (1 Corinthians 12:4-6). Looking forward to learning more about how to work for the master...
Amen! Looking forward to it too!
Thank you, Paul, for your comment that doing working in God's "Operations" is the highest work entrusted to men. Today, with our focus on fame, money, popularity, social status, the latest gadget, etc., the privilege of working at spreading the Gospel is relegated to a lower status. While we respect our Pastors and evangelists, many of us don't view them as reaching the highest position in society. I too used to believe that church leadership was a respectable position, but having a position with a title of Dr., CEO, Manager, President, etc., was far superior. Oh, how God has had to show me HIS view of success! Today, I have a missionary daughter who lives on $250/month, owns only a nice wall painting and what fits into 2 suitcases, and works 10-12 hrs/day sharing Jesus with teens & young adults in England. And I view her as the most successful person I know. I brag about her often. She is employed in the highest calling available. She "got it" before I did. Oh, I pray that we all will "get it" and look at sharing the Gospel as the GREATEST thing we can do in this world. If any of you out there have a relative working full-time to share the Gospel, brag about them! They have reached the pinnacle of success!
This week's lessons are primarily about the commission we are given on earth to be concerned about the salvation of others. It is a specific commission that those living in Heaven don't have to worry about. What I think about when considering this is that everyone in the entire universe, whether in Heaven or on earth, is to live under the two broad rules to love God and to love our neighbor. The commission to be involved in the salvation of others is actually a subset of that larger commission to have the mind of God in love to others at least on the level as we love ourselves (Mat 22:39) and to Paul it goes beyond that (Phil 2:3).
To me one of the greatest calls to the larger commission was during the last supper when Jesus washed His disciples' feet, "Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you" (Jn. 13:12-15 NKJV). It is not a commission to go around washing feet but a command stated another way by Jesus in the gospel of Matthew, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave-- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Matt. 20:25-28 NKJV). This is the great divider between the sheep and the goats.
The sad thing is that there will those who have been mighty instruments used by the Holy Spirit that have helped save thousands but they themselves will not be in Heaven, Paul alludes to this problem in 1 Cor 9:27. They will have outwardly adhered to the commission to be fishers of men but not changed in the heart and having the attitude that Jesus had. Some of them will have destroyed their families and ignored the more basic needs to have a loving, pitying heart toward others. As Micah said, "He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God" (Mic. 6:8 NKJV). If we fail in this then it really doesn't matter how many we might have helped to save. And merely helping and playing a minor role in the process of the salvation of others is the best that we can ever hope for because we are not the ones that save - God is. We do not initiate the process; we cannot change hearts nor do we finish the process for Jesus is, "the author and finisher of our faith" (Heb. 12:2 NKJV). All we can do is to be witnesses; the Lord does the rest which amounts to about 99% of the whole thing and if we don't do what we are supposed to do with the right attitude then it will have amounted to nothing.
A profound comment, Tyler.
The commission to "teach all nations" (Mark 15:15) is not independent of the call to deny self, take up our cross daily and follow Him. (Luke 9:23) In fact, we can only be truly effective if we accept the call to be like Jesus.
Thank you Tyler for your comments about 'saving others'. I pray for all my children and their children every day that they will come back to Jesus and accept his offer of salvation. I can do no more than live and witness to them through my life- I leave the rest to God. Sometimes it is hard to just leave it all with Him, but I also pray for patience to let God do the work. I have the example of my mother who has prayed for me to return to Jesus for 30 years and now I have made my commitment to Him and by God's grace, I will always be by His side.
Jane, your testimony you have shared has some similarity to mine. Until last August, I was a former SdA who had been an atheist for the past 10 or so years. I had strenuously pushed the Holy Spirit away for so long that, I am convinced, it was only the faithful, constant prayers of my father that afforded Jesus the spiritual leverage He needed to reveal Himself to me that Friday afternoon in August.
Brothers and sisters, never stop praying for your loved ones, especially your families. And especially, parents, pray for your children.
Welcome back home, Jeffrey! 🙂
Very good Tyler I feel you are right on point. Jesus life of Love and His commandment to love others or do unto others as we would have them do unto us reflects Him.
What a memory text.I actually got to understand it better this time. If l have that desire to come - I have to first: deny, secondly: take, thirdly: follow. without these 3 steps, yielding to the Spirit of God will be impossible. Growing each day-thank you Lord !