Lesson 4 for April 25, 2015

“When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!’ For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.’” (Luke 5:8-10) We can understand how discipleship works by studying the story of the miraculous catch of fish. Man Obeying the word of Jesus: “at Your word I will let down the net.” (Luke 5:5) Accepting God’s holiness: “Depart from me, O Lord!” (Luke 5:8) Accepting my sinfulness: “I am a sinful man.” (Luke 5:8) God Leading, caring and protecting: “Do not be afraid.” (Luke 5:10) Preparing me to be a disciple: “I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19)

“And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles.” (Luke 6:13) Apostle means “one who is sent away.” Jesus picked the twelve apostles to send them to preach the Gospel as ambassadors of the Kingdom. Why did Jesus choose those twelve men? Was there something special in them? We don’t know for sure which was the occupation of half of them before following Jesus. Four of them were fishermen; one of them was tax collector and one of them was a revolutionary. They were no special at all. Nevertheless, they loved the Kingdom of God. They longed for being with Jesus. So Jesus “had chosen them as men whom He could imbue with His Spirit, and who could be fitted to carry forward His work on earth when He should leave it.” (E.G.W., Education, cp. 9, pg. 84)

According to the above quote, how does the great commission work?

“After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go… Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.’” (Luke 10:1,17) Those 70 disciples were commanded to preach the Gospel, so preaching is not reserved to priests and elders only. Every Christian must be involved in this mission. What did Jesus say about the result of the seventy’s mission (Luke 10:18-20)? When our mission is successful, Satan is defeated (v. 18). The greater the effort, the greater the power (v. 19). Our joy should not be rooted in success but in entering the Kingdom of Heaven (v. 20).

E.G.W. (The Acts of the Apostles, cp. 58, pg. 599)

“Then He said to them all, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.’” (Luke 9:23) The cost of discipleship may be summarized in three verbs: Denying, taking up and following. Denying myself. Denying myself. I’m no longer my old “me”. That “me” is dead and I’m a new person in Christ. Taking up my cross. Taking up my cross. I must accept my new responsibility as a disciple. I may even have to pay a high price to accept it. Following Jesus. Following Jesus. Jesus must be the only one leading my life. Without people walking in the footprints of Calvary, there is no Christian discipleship.

“Those who would be victors should contemplate and count the cost of salvation. Strong human passions must be subdued; the independent will must be brought into captivity to Christ. The Christian is to realize that he is not his own. He will have temptations to resist, and battles to fight against his own inclinations; for the Lord will accept no half-way service. Hypocrisy is an abomination to Him. The follower of Christ must walk by faith, as seeing Him who is invisible. Christ will be his dearest treasure, his all and in all.” E.G.W. (God’s Amazing Grace, September 20)