27 Feb 2007
LEADERSHIP TRAINING JESUS STYLE
Notes by: Rick Sink
CONSECRATION
Obedience Required.
Not one of the disciples was asked to make a statement of faith or accept rules and regulations in the beginning of their walk with Jesus. They did not have to be smart, educated, or even attractive to draw the masses. But, they did need to be loyal. For the moment all they were asked to do was follow Jesus. This is a clear call to faith in the person of Christ and obedience to His Word. No one will follow a person in whom he or she has no trust, nor sincerely take the step of faith unless he or she is willing to obey what the leader has to say.
There is evidence that they recognized Jesus as the Messiah.
John 1:41-42
The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus.
John 1:45
Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote — Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
John 1:49
Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."
NIV
Following Jesus seemed easy at first, but they had not followed him very far. They soon found out that being a part of the Messianic promise was much more complicated and costly.
IT MEANT;
1. Absolute surrender of one’s whole life to the Master in complete submission to his sovereignty. There could be no compromise.
Luke 16:13
"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." NIV
Luke 16:13 Amplified
No servant is able to serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (riches, or anything in which you trust and on which you rely).
2. There had to be a complete forsaking of sin. The old thought patterns, habits, and worldly pleasures had to be conformed to the new disciples of the Kingdom of God.
Matthew 5:1-7
SEEING THE crowds, He went up on the mountain; and when He was seated, His disciples came to Him. 2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
3 Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous — with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the poor in spirit (the humble, who rate themselves insignificant), for theirs is the kingdom of heaven!
4 Blessed and enviably happy [with happiness produced by the experience of God's favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of His matchless grace] are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted! [Isaiah 61:2.]
5 Blessed (happy, blithesome, joyous, spiritually prosperous — with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the meek (the mild, patient, long-suffering), for they shall inherit the earth! [Psalms 37:11.]
6 Blessed and fortunate and happy and spiritually prosperous (in that state in which the born-again child of God enjoys His favor and salvation) are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God), for they shall be completely satisfied! [Isaiah 55:1,2.]
7 Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous — with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy! AMP
3. Perfection of love was now the only standard of conduct, and this love was to manifest itself in obedience to Christ, expressed in devotion to those whom he died to save.
Matthew 5:48
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. NIV
John 14:21-24
Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, "But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?"23 Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. NIV
4. There was a cross in it, the willing denial of self for others.
John 12:25-26
The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. NIV
(Mark 8;34-38 Matthew 16;24-26 Luke 9;23-25)
They liked to be numbered among his followers when he filled their stomachs with bread and fish, but when Jesus started talking about the true spiritual quality of the Kingdom and the sacrifice to achieve it many of the disciples quit. (John 6; 60-66). This was a strong teaching and not many were willing to make the commitment.
Jesus did not chase after them or try to convince them to stay on his membership roll. He was training leaders for the Kingdom, and if they were going to be fit vessels of service, they were going to have to pay the price.
THE PRICE TO BE A DISCIPLE
Those who would not go all the way fell by the wayside. They had selfish desires that separated them from the faithful followers of Jesus. Judas was exposed as a devil (John 6; 70) but held out to the end, but at last his greed overcame him. Those who could not let go of the world could not follow Jesus to the greatest degree.
Those who pretended only brought tragedy in their life.
Matthew 27:3-5
When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. 4 "I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood." "What is that to us?" they replied. "That's your responsibility."5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. NIV
Jesus made it clear on several occasions that following Him would not be easy.
Matthew 8;19
And a scribe came up and said to Him, Master, I will accompany You wherever You go.
20 And Jesus replied to him, Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have lodging places, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head. 21 Another of the disciples said to Him, Lord, let me first go and bury [care for till death] my father. 22 But Jesus said to him, Follow Me, and leave the dead [in sin] to bury their own dead. AMP
Another man wanted to follow Jesus on his own terms. He wanted to say goodbye to his family, perhaps knowing there would be a great celebration before his departure.
Jesus set him straight:
Luke 9:61-62
Another said, "Yes, Lord, I will come, but first let me ask permission of those at home."
62 But Jesus told him, "Anyone who lets himself be distracted from the work I plan for him is not fit for the Kingdom of God." The Living Bible
Jesus did not have time or the desire to scatter himself on those who wanted to make their own terms of discipleship. Every disciple was charged to count the cost of being a follower of Christ.
Luke 14:28-33
"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? 29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30 saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' 31 "Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, any of you who do not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. NIV
When the opportunists left him in Capernaum because he would not meet their expectations he was left with only a few followers.
John 6:66-69
From 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. 68 Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." NIV
These words from Peter were reassuring to Jesus. He began to talk more intimately about his suffering and death.
LEARNING IS CONNECTED TO OBEDIENCE
When Jesus began to tell the disciples he would be put to death by the religious leaders in Jerusalem, Peter rebuke the Master. Jesus had to tell him that he was being used by Satan.
Matthew 16:22-25
22 Then Peter took Him aside to speak to Him privately and began to reprove and charge Him sharply, saying, God forbid, Lord! This must never happen to You! 23 But Jesus turned away from Peter and said to him, Get behind Me, Satan! You are in My way [an offense and a hindrance and a snare to Me]; for you are minding what partakes not of the nature and quality of God, but of men. 24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone desires to be My disciple, let him deny himself [disregard, lose sight of, and forget himself and his own interests] and take up his cross and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying, also]. 25 For whoever is bent on saving his [temporal] life [his comfort and security here] shall lose it [eternal life]; and whoever loses his life [his comfort and security here] for My sake shall find it [life everlasting]. Amplified
They were not able to comprehend their place in the Kingdom. It was hard for them to understand servitude fro the sake of others.
1. They bickered who would be greatest in the Kingdom. (Mark 9:33-37 ; Matthew 18;1-5)
2. James and John wanted to have the prominent places. (Mark 10:35-37)
3. The other 10 displayed an envious spirit and were indignant about it. (Mark 10:14)
4. They were unnecessary hash in their judgment of others who did not agree with them (Luke 9:51-54).
5. They were moved “with indignation” at parents who wanted Jesus to bless their children (Mark 10:13).
Jesus was willing to endure the shortcomings of the disciples because they were willing to follow him. With such men Jesus was willing to put up with a lot of those things which issued from their spiritual immaturity. He knew they could master these defects as they grew in grace and knowledge. Obedience to Christ was the means by which they learned more truth. Jesus did not ask his disciples to commit their lives to a doctrine, but to a person who was the doctrine, and as they continued in the Word they came to know the truth (John 8:31-32).
When Jesus spoke about obedience, it was something the disciples could see in human form.
John 13:15-17
I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. NIV
Every day we are indifferent to our responsibilities is a day lost to the cause of Christ.
(Some notes were compiled from “The Master Plan of Evangelism” by Robert E. Colman)
Rick Sink
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