1. Growing Through Discipleship Growing through Discipleship 2013 OIF Sermon Series

2. Growing Through Discipleship A disciple is a follower of Jesus. Discipleship is the process of learning to follow Jesus well, and helping someone else to follow Jesus well.

3. Growing Through Discipleship Growing through Discipleship 2013 OIF Sermon Series The Cost of Discipleship Matthew 16:24-26

4. Growing Through Discipleship “… There is a fatal flaw in the professing church today: a lack of true discipleship. Discipleship is talked about, or course. There are books about it, particularly about what is called ‘discipling’ other people. Words are not the problem. What is lacking is the thing itself.” - Pastor James Boyce

5. Growing Through Discipleship Matthew 16:21-23 21 From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. 22 Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” 23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.

6. Growing Through Discipleship Matthew 16:24-26 24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 25 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

7. Growing Through Discipleship Matthew 10:38 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Mark 8:34 34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

8. Growing Through Discipleship Luke 9:23 23And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Luke 14:27 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

9. Growing Through Discipleship Matthew 16:24-26 24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 25 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

10. Growing Through Discipleship Matthew 16:24-26 24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 25 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? Die to self-importance, self-righteousness, self-absorption, self- advancement, self-interest, self-dependence, etc.

11. Growing Through Discipleship Matthew 16:24-26 24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 25 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

12. Growing Through Discipleship Matthew 16:24-26 24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 25 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

13. Growing Through Discipleship Luke 14:28-33 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

14. Growing Through Discipleship “As we embark upon discipleship, we surrender ourselves to Christ in union with his death- we give over our lives to death. Thus it begins; the cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise God-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ. When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die… only the man who is dead to his own will can follow Christ.” - D. Bonhoeffer

15. Growing Through Discipleship Are you ready and willing to take up the cross and die today so you can truly enjoy the new life in Christ? What are something Jesus is calling you to die to now? Are there hopes, dreams, desires, plans that you are afraid to surrender to Him? Give it to Him and trust Him today to give you what is even better!