Eight Marks of a Disciple
(based on a sermon given by Adrian Despres )

John 6:60-69 (NIV) On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" 61Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you? 62What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. 64Yet there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him." 66From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. 67"You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve. 68Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."

A "disciple" is a "perpetual follower." The crowds in this passage were followers. But only because they wanted free food. (See another message on this passage.)

Socrates would take an individual to the river who wished to be his disciple. There he would hold the initiate's head under water until they almost passed out. When he pulled them up they would gasp for air. He would say, "You can only be my disciple when you want to follow me more than you want air!"

True discipleship is what Peter says in vs. 68, "Where else would we go. You have the words of life." This isn't the only time that Peter speaks out. Look at the following passage.

Matthew 16:13-28 (NIV) When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" 14They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" 16Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." 20Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ. 21From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. 22Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!" 23Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." 24Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 27For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. 28I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom." (emphasis mine)

Peter goes from high to low so fast. In verse 17, Jesus tells him he is blessed because he realized that Jesus was the Christ. And then just a few moments later Jesus calls him Satan. Peter, like the other disciples, was waiting for a Messiah that would rule as king. So Peter tells him now way are you going to die, stop talking like that. There is a key word after this happens, "then". Then Jesus tells them what it will cost to be a disciple. If you want to be a follower of me this is what you have to do:

1. DENY SELF - Matthew 16:24 (not self-denial, like an ascetic monk)

Put all of my rights into a bag and throw it out. The greatest amount of joy on this whole planet is to deny your self. (See "Dying to Self") The two cookie principle illustrates what it means to deny self.

Two Cookie Principle: Say you have two of your favorite cookies. While you are getting ready to eat them someone comes up to you, sees the cookies and hints that he would enjoy one of them. After all you have two. The two cookie principle says to do this: with all joy you give BOTH cookies to him and then sit and enjoy watching him eat your cookies. And if at all possible, to do so without him letting him even know that you sacrificed for him.

In our culture, we have been taught self-esteem; to raise yourself up. What we really need is a God-esteem; His view of me - not mine. Give up all your rights. When you do you can't say "I have the right to …." This eliminates much arguing. Look at Romans 12:1-2 and Philippians 3:7-11.

Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Philip. 3:7-11 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, 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 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Are you willing to deny self? This is the first mark of a Disciple.

2. TAKE UP YOUR CROSS - Matthew 16:24

When we think about what Jesus said about taking up your cross here, we often get confused. Some talk about "well, that's just the cross I have to bear" as though it is a burden. This is not what Jesus was saying. The cross was a means of execution. It would be comparable to saying "Take up your electric chair, your noose, your guillotine, your lethal injection…" This is total commitment; being willing and ready to die for the Christ.

Are you willing to take up your cross? Are you so dedicated to Jesus Christ that you will die for Him? Are you so dedicated to Jesus Christ that you will live for Him?

3. FOLLOW JESUS - Matthew 16:24

Do what He does. The wrist bands with W.W.J.D. (What would Jesus Do) are popular. But Do What Jesus Did. Follow Him. Obey Him.

In Matthew 16:13-28 Jesus is going to die. He was committed to doing what the Father asked Him to do. He was obedient unto death.

1 Peter 2:20-21 But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 21To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

Obey God even if you suffer for it. In fact, if you live for Christ you will suffer.

2 Tim. 3:12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,

But rejoice in your sufferings.

Are you willing to obey Him? Are you willing to suffer for Him? Are you willing to abandon all for Him?

4. HATE ALL FOR CHRIST - Luke 14:26

Luke 14:26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple.

Jesus is not telling us to literally hate others. That would go against everything else that he taught. What He is saying that Our love for Him must be so great that our love for anything else is hatred by comparison.

What is your greatest love on earth? What is the thing that you enjoy most? Jesus says that we are to love Him more than that thing or person we love. I love my wife greatly, but my love for Christ is to surpass my love for her so much that it looks like I hate my wife in comparison.

5. GIVE UP EVERYTHING - Luke 14:33

Luke 14:33 "In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple."

This doesn't necessarily mean sell everything right now. But it does mean to give it all to Him. The following story "The Pearl of Great Price" illustrates what this means.

A merchant found a pearl that was the most outstanding pearl in all of the world. He had to have it. The seller told him, "You can't afford it."

But the merchant insisted that he had to have it. "What is the cost?"

"All that you have," was the reply.

"Well, I have $200,000 dollars in the bank."

"That's now mine then."

"Well how do I take care of my house and my car then?"

"Oh, you have a house and a car? Your car, your house, and all that's in it is mine now too."

"But where will my family and I live?"

"You have a family? They are now mine also."

"That would leave us with just the clothes on our back!"

"Oh, those clothes are mine now also. In fact so are you. When I said the price was ALL that you have. I mean all! In fact, I now own you too. But, I will tell you what I give all of this back to you to take care of for me. It is still mine and I can do with it as I please. But you take care of it for me and make the best use of it for me."

This is how it is with Christ. We are to give Him everything; our clothes, our house, our car, our toys, our time, our friends, our family, ... everything. It all belongs to Him. We are just using it now. It really belongs to Him. And we better take good care of His things. We better make sure that they are used in the way that He wants them used. If He says He wants to sell some of His things, give them away, or let someone else use them, who are we to argue? They are His after all. So when my little brother want's to play with something in my (His) room - let him. (I shouldn't let him destroy those things though, since I'm to take care of them for God.)

Between this attitude and the attitude of denying self - giving up all rights (point number one above) all arguments between me and others should be virtually eliminated.

Adrian Despres shares that at the beginning of his ministry he was wisely counseled. "There are three G's not to touch."

• Gold - Money is not the reason to do anything.
• Glory - Boasting in self. Seeking my own honor.
• Girl - (or for you girls the guy) Don't be in a room alone with a girl. (This doesn't mean you can't get married or anything like that. It just means to avoid any temptation or appearance of evil. It also avoids accusation of evil when you are innocent.)

Remember Jesus' words "Where you treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Luke 12:34)

6. HOLD TO CHRIST'S TEACHINGS - John 8:31

John 8:31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.

What does it mean to hold to Christ's teachings? It means: to stick to them; to obey them; to do them.

In order to do this we have to KNOW His teachings. This will take some work - some study. Adrian Despres says he has a rule he lives by, "No Bible - No Breakfast." Adrian also has a goal to memorize the entire New Testament and is well on his way to accomplishing that goal. But you say, "I could never do that. He's just real smart." By his own admission, Adrian did very, very poorly on the ACT test. It's not that he's smart. He just memorizes by plain hard work. He wants to know the Bible real well!

So how do we stack up? Do you know your Bible well? Do you know Christ's teachings? And the key question - are you obeying and doing what the parts you do know?

7. LOVE ONE ANOTHER - John 13:34-35

John 13:34-35 "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."

Love for others is one of the greatest evangelistic tools today. Everyone has a need for love. Jesus says we are to show genuine love for others. And we are to love how? As He loved us. He gave up everything for us because He loved us. He now asks us to love each other the same way. And love is a verb - it's shown by action.

(Love here is not sex. The sexual revolution is costing us greatly today. It has had led to the break up of families, disease, and the break up of society.)

8. BEAR FRUIT - John 15:8

John 15:8 This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Bearing fruit has to do with God making a change in me - the fruits of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). It also is reproducing the life that God has given me in others.

Adrian says that his life's purpose is "To know Jesus intimately and to make Him known passionately." That is to bear fruit.

95% of the church has NEVER shared their faith with others.

A young man was seriously injured and needed blood. But he had a very rare blood type. His little brother had the same type of blood. They asked the little boy if he would give blood for his brother. After a few moments of serious contemplation he asked, "If I do, will it save his life?" When he was told it would he said o.k. They hooked him up to his brother and the blood started to go from one boy to the other. After some time, the little boy started to cry. They asked if he was in pain. He said no. "Then what is the matter? Why are you crying?" He answered, "When am I going to die?" He thought that by giving blood to his brother he would die. And yet he was willing to do so to save his brothers life.

This is the attitude that we need to have. Hell is real and many of the people we come in contact with every day are going there. What are we doing about it? We can't make up their minds for them or force them. But we can tell them the cure.

CONCUSION

I have good news for you. You can't do these eight things. It is impossible for you to live these out.

But Christ can do them through you.

Attitude is everything! We need to have the attitude that we want to be a disciple - a perpetual follower - of Christ; that we want to do live in such a way that these eight signs of a disciple show up in our lives. If you have the attitude that you'll walk through a wall for Christ (do anything for Him), God will take your attitude and work through you - to His honor and Glory.

Let Him do it. You can't do it.

Why does He ask us to do the impossible? He wants us to trust Him; to love Him; to lean on Him.

" Lord, I deny myself. I give you all of my rights. I take up my cross and state that I am willing to live for you, even when it hurts and causes me to suffer. I will follow you faithfully even unto death. I will obey all that you ask me to do. Lord, help me to know you more, to love you more. Help me to love you so much that all other loves dim by comparison. Lord, I surrender all to you. I give you everything I have, everything I own, all of my possessions, time, money, relationships, everything. Lord, help me to know Your Word - to learn it and understand what You want me to do. Help me to hide it in my heart that I might not sin against you and that I might fully obey you. Lord, I want to boldly tell others about You; to point them to You. Help me to bear fruit. Lord, I cannot do any of this on my own. I need you to do it in me and through me. I make myself available to you to do your work through me. In the blessed name of Jesus -AMEN."

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