While reading John aloud during morning
watches (we have been reading
scriptures
aloud since the 40-day prayer and fasting),
this verse in John
suddenly hit me “Then
Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him,
“If you abide
in My word, you are my
disciples indeed” John 8:31.
Why did Jesus emphasize this to the Jews when
they had already
believed? Does believing in
Christ make you a disciple? There can only be one
answer to this question, mere belief in Christ does
not make you a disciple.
You only qualify to be
called a “disciple” if you abide in His word.
A convert merely professes his faith in Christ but a disciple remains in the word of God no matter what the cost.
This is the stand that Jesus clearly made even when addressing the "secret" believers!
It is also interesting that in John 12:42, there was
mentioned another
group of prominent, rich and
very influential believers but they feared to
confess Him publicly lest they should be put out
of the synagogue for they
loved the praise of men
more than the praise of God. They were the rulers
of
the city/house of God having religious and
political influence maybe even earning a hefty
salary from their positions. Jesus did not
recognize them as disciples. Instead He
put a caveat – they can only be called disciples if they remain/abide in His
word.
This set me thinking - who is a disciple?
I heard this fascinating testimony told to me by
one of my prayer
partner during the morning
watches which showed the difference between a
convert and a disciple.
“A general had paraded some Christians which he
had arrested and
intended to make a sport of them
and to kill them unless they renounced Christ. He stripped them naked and put them in
the shivering cold. He then made them stand before him as he himself sat on a table
laden with the best kind of food and wine.
He also brought piles of warm
clothes with him. He then asked them if they wanted to eat the food and to
drink the wine. They had to renounce Christ as a pre-condition if not he will
let them die in their hunger and in the biting cold.
Suddenly God opened his eyes. He saw many
angels descending upon
the Christians. The angels
carried crowns with them. On those who refused to renounce Christ for the food and the clothes, the angels placed the
crowns on their heads even as they crumpled to the ground and died in the extreme
cold. Their spirit then ascended to heaven with the angels that had crowned them.
However there was one person who could not
decide what to do. He was tempted by the clothes and the food.
The general saw the angel going up and down above this person, up and down, up
and down in tandem with the wavering faith of the Christian. Finally the angel
with the crown left and ascended to heaven without crowning this person because the person chose to deny Christ by surging forward to eat
the food on the table and to take the warm clothes for himself.
The general believed in Jesus as a result of what
he saw and gave
up his worldly position to follow
Christ and to suffer along with the saints
who
died”.
I think the answer is clear to us as to who the
disciples are and
who are not.
There are 3 distinct marks of a disciple:
1. He remains/abides in the word - a disciple finds time to read and obey the word of God. He immerses himself in the word. Day and night he meditates on it and studies it (Psalm 1). He diligently seeks the God of the word in the word of God.
Heb 11:6 "Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him"
How can we have faith that pleases God? How can we diligently seek Him? We can only seek Him in the word of God and in prayer.
Faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of God (Rom 10:17). The more we hear the word of God, the more we will build muscles of faith. The more we immerse ourselves in the word, the more we will be transformed to be like the word of God and changed/shaped in our attitudes and outlook (Rom 12:1).
2. He is a worshiper – a disciple loves to worship Jesus exclusively.
John 9:31 "Now we know that God hears sinners, but if any man be a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him".
See the connection between worship and prayer in this verse. A worshiper is also an intercessor. Worship will naturally lead us to intercession. Even the Lord's prayer gives us the flow. We start with worshiping and exalting Jesus. Prayer will naturally flow forth from our life. Effective prayer begins with worship and exalting the Lord Jesus Christ!
When I started writing the church prayer blog, the Lord told me not to write "attendees" (I had to record the number of people) but to write "worshipers" instead. Now I know why!
A worshiper is also one who gives his full allegiance to Christ and Christ alone (John
4:23-24). Worship turns his attention away from himself and his daily concerns to the God of the universe.
3. He is a servant – a disciple is willing to serve
others even if it means to wash the feet of others. Jesus himself washed the feet of not only those who loved Him but also his betrayer. In the midst of the disciples, Judas was also there. Why did He do that? Because of love.
We are to continue serving and reaching out to those who hate us, to those who hit back at us and curse, to those who will even turn back from following Christ. Jesus continue to reach out to me even when I forget about Him, even when I back-slide, even when I do not stand up for him.
A mark of a servant is that he does not seek to draw attention to himself. In fact he is happiest when others do not mention his name.
One day God spoke to me "Why do you want to receive accolades from men? When you receive glory from man on earth for all your good deeds and spirituality, you have already received your reward but when you serve Me without seeking the glory of men, you will receive greater rewards in heaven. The rewards far exceed the rewards man will give you on this earth and in this life.
Seek to be unknown, seek to be unknown, remain humble, nameless and faceless so that Your Father in heaven will reward you richly when the time comes"
As a servant a disciple considers others better
than himself. He does not judge others when he sees their dirty feet. He does not criticise or condemn others. He does not even complain about others or point out their mistakes (God forgive me as I do this countless of times).
He makes every effort to help others clean up their lives (John 13:14-15). His greatest joy is to see others becoming better than him in service unto the Master.
4. He is a witness for his master - in fact the dictionary meaning of a disciple is just someone who follows the teaching of his master. We are disciples of Jesus because we believe in His message and His teachings.
He is one who loves his teacher so much that he finds such joy in teaching others what his teacher has taught him and is committed to make others become like
him. In other words, a disciple points others to Jesus and make “copies” of others like him
who will follow after Jesus (Matt 28:18-20).
4. He is willing to give his all to Jesus even it means giving up his own life – this is yet the final test of a true disciple. Is he willing to count all things loss for the attaining the riches and glory of his eternal
inheritance in Christ
Is he willing to give up his position, name and reputation in society just to be considered a disciple of Christ? Many in the gospels were put out of the synagogue by believing in Jesus during the time when the Lord walked on the earth. There is a price to pay for following Jesus. In some cultures, it means paying with our own lives.
John 12:25 “He who loves his life will lose it, and he
who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” - an appropriate verse to illustrate the story above.
All through history, we see disciples of the Lord willingly lay down their lives to bear His mark. The Lord's disciples being the examples for us to follow.
Are there any true disciples
out there? Please stand up!
