The Focused Disciple
The who and the what of following Jesus.
Part One: Focused On Who?
To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps…
—1 Peter 2:21 (NIV)
Focused on Who?
Understanding who we are focused on draws us into the person of Jesus and the heart of the Father.
Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
—John 14:8-9 (ESV)
Your impact on this community will not be made by how long you have known Jesus, but by when last you were transformed by Him!
Before we can be the church that Jesus returns for, we must be the disciples Jesus calls for.
Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great Priest with ready access to God—let’s not let it slip through our fingers. We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.
—Hebrews 4:14-16 The Message (MSG)
To be disciples, we can only rest once we have found application, inspiration, and revelation in every word of Jesus for every situation, circumstance, and relationship.
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
—Colossians 3:17 (NLT)
We have to give our following of Jesus the respect He deserves.
So then, my beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
—Philippians 2:12
We have to FOCUS.
F – FOLLOW
As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him.
—Matthew 9:9 NLT
mathetes (math-ay-tes’); a learner, pupil, disciple, follower.
We are not called to simply believe in or acknowledge our savior. Jesus calls us to live how He lived, love how He loved, and do what He did!
To be disciples, we have to follow the character of our teacher and the deeds of our master.
To follow means that we are willing to go where Jesus went but live our lives according to where Jesus is.
O – OBEY
Jesus said, ‘If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.’
—John 15:10 (NLT)
Obedience gets us focused on the who of the gospel, not the who of our comfort.
We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.” Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than men!
—Acts 5:28-29
Obey God completely & immediately.
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
—1 John 5:3
If we find God’s commands burdensome, then we are obedient to the wrong WHO.
C – CALLED
Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.
—Ephesians 4:1 (NLT)
Calling is as much who you are becoming as it is what you are doing.
Calling isn’t about something important you do in the future, it’s about your faithfulness to Jesus today.
The moment you step into your calling you step out of your comfort.
The biggest enemy of calling is comfort. Never sacrifice your calling on the altar of comfort.
God often uses our deepest pain to launch our greatest calling!
For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn.
—Romans 11:29 NLT
God does not need to recall you. We have to reclaim our calling.
We constantly pray for you that our God may make you worthy of his calling and that by his power, he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you!
—2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 (NLT)
You are called HEAVENWARD.
Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
—Philippians 3:13-14
U – USE GODS WORD
Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
—James 1:22 (NLT)
It is the WORD of God that allows the promises of God to burst into your life.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
—John 1:14 NIV
To be disciples, we can only rest once we have found application, inspiration, and revelation in every word of Jesus for every situation, circumstance, and relationship.
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
—2 Timothy 3:16-17
God’s promises are our weapons, His Word is our defense, and Who He Is is our armor.
S – SPIRIT LED
If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
—John 14:15-17
Holy Spirit gives you the power to share Christ boldly.
My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power. The Holy Spirit gives you power when you are feeling weak.
—1 Corinthians 2:4
The Holy Spirit gives you power when you are feeling weak.
My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power may rest on me… For when I am weak, then I am strong.
—2 Corinthians 12:9-10
The Holy Spirit gives you the power to have hope in a hopeless world
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
—Romans 15:13
The Holy Spirit gives you the power to experience the fullness of God.
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
—Ephesians 3:16-19
CLOSING
THE WHO IS NOT YOU – IT IS JESUS
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
—Isaiah 9:6 (NLT)
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