2020.02.09 - Discipleship is Not Just a Class (Luke 9:23-25)

Opening Statement: Discipleship is not a class; discipleship is a relationship. To all that are listening to Jesus that day He is offering them a choice. He is asking them to choose to deny themselves and follow after Him or not deny themselves and follow the things of this world. This is an important matter in understanding what discipleship is all about. Individual Invitation “Then He said to them all. If anyone…” Jesus offers a universal invitation. Anyone is invited, but everyone who chooses must accept the terms of discipleship which is to follow. Jesus gives an individual invitation saying, “you come follow me!” Jesus seeks us. He is inviting us to be His disciples—His followers. You and I are receiving an individual invitation to deny self and follow Jesus. Drastic Devotion Remember this is not some form of radical Christianity this is just how regular Christianity that should be lived out every day. In this text Jesus doesn’t give three distinct commands about following Him when He said, deny self, take up your cross, and follow me but instead this three-fold command to be synonymous with the radical idea to follow Jesus. Jesus set the example of drastic devotion when Jesus denied Himself by leaving Heaven and come as one of us. Jesus told the disciples, “I have not come to be served, but to serve.” We also know that Jesus took up His cross. These are commands that leave us with the basic notion of what it means to be His disciple—to follow Him with a drastic devotion. Paul said, as is recorded in Romans 8:29, that we are “to be conformed to the image of Jesus.” So that is the root of all that Jesus is saying here as is recorded here in Luke 9:23. Definitive Direction “Come follow me” is the command. There is a definitive direction. We follow Him. We are following a person not a philosophy. And where did He ultimately lead us to? To the cross. Daily Decision Jesus tells them this is not a one-time action but something that must be done every day. I have to deny myself every d