Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. [25] For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
MATTHEW 16:24-25 KJV
For a person to be a disciple of a man or a cause, he would need to be a diligent observer of the one he follows. Therefore the scripture says in Mark 3:13-14 that He (Jesus) went up on the mountain and summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him. And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach. A disciple observes the discipline of the one he follows and does as he sees. Jesus’ disciples saw Him preach and they did the same, but first, they remained with Him. Yesterday, we mentioned a key to consecration, which is our response to the call to follow Jesus: Self-denial.
Jesus lived out a life of self-denial and surrender to God and said to his disciples that they do the same, John 5:30. Another key to consecration or appropriate response to our call is to be a disciple in devotion, praise, and worship to God. Jesus lived and breathed prayer. He prayed when he was being baptized, Luke 3:21-22, being transfigured, Luke 9:28-29, and even before He was killed, Mark 13:32-42, this was how He had the strength to go to the cross. He prayed hours and hours while having one of the busiest schedules a person can have. He would pray all night and minister all day, Luke 5:15-16, Matthew 14:23, Mark 1:35. His busy schedule was never an excuse not to pray, this was how He always knew the will of the Father.
We cannot expect to be as effective as Jesus was without spending hours in prayer. Hebrews 4:16 tells us that we are to come boldly, confidently, with assurance to receive at his throne. If we are to become what God wants us to be in Christ Jesus, we must be in communion with Him. We are already referred to as a house of prayer, Isaiah 56:7. We have the Spirit that enabled Jesus to pray within us and so we can pray as He did.
Another discipline is Studying the Word of God. Paul said to Timothy, study to show yourself approved, 2 Timothy 2:15. Jesus was obviously a student of the Word. Luke 4:16 says And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. He knew the Word and had meditated on it. It was His custom to read the scriptures. This was how he could go through the temptation in Matthew 4:1-11. This was how he could fulfill that which was written of Him in the Scripture. To know God’s will for our lives and the church, we must relate with Him through His Word which is the blueprint. The primary way God speaks to us is through His Word and a disciple must be conversant with the Word of God.
The beauty of being a disciple of Jesus is that the same Spirit He had, we have in us. All the works He did, we can and will do, and more as we observe and follow His discipline because His Spirit lives and also dwells in us, John 14:12.
Prayer for today: Lord Jesus, thank you for showing me a clear example of what I can be if I choose to be your disciple. Father, help me to stay with You and learn of You. If my world will ever see Jesus through me, I need to learn your discipline and be diligent to observe and do. Lord help me to be diligent and not hasty. Let me pray like You did and study Your word as diligently as You did. I receive Your grace today to pray as You did, that I may also fulfil that which is written of me in the volume of the books, to do Your will in Jesus name. Amen.
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