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What kind of disciple?


What kind of disciple?
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Reference: SHM-S01-004-Mw-R01-P2

(Originally spoken on 11 June 2006, edited on 9 October 2009, revised on 22 September 2011)

Web site: http://www.ajourneyinlife.org and http://www.ajourneyinlife.com

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Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

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We profess the Lord Jesus is our Lord and we want to follow Him. It is good for us, as we profess our faith in Him, to ponder over what this means in practical terms.

Let us look at John 9: 28:

They reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses... "

In this context, we are aware that the blind man was healed by the Lord Jesus and he was being questioned with regard to who it was who healed him. So we find that as the Jews questioned the blind man - and especially the Pharisees who were not believing in the Lord Jesus - the man professed that he was healed by this man Jesus.

Verse 28 tells us:
They reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses... "

That was because the blind man said:

"I told you already and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?"

We see that the Jews, the Pharisees, they professed to believe in Moses - they were disciples of Moses - but they were not disciples of the Lord Jesus.

As you think about it, what does that mean? Can they be truly disciples of Moses and yet not be disciples of the Lord Jesus in the spiritual realm?

The Lord tells us Moses pointed to the Lord Jesus. Moses was a servant of God to tell the world about the Lord Jesus: a Prophet will come to be like him, a Prophet that the Jews must listen to.

So the Pharisees, the Jews, could very readily say they were disciples of Moses, but they were not disciples of the Lord Jesus.

Today, when we are asked, we say, "We are disciples of the Lord Jesus". But do we understand what that means? Did the Pharisees know what it meant to be disciples of Moses?

If they truly listened to Moses, they would have listened to God. If they truly listened to God, they would have understood who the Lord Jesus was and they would become His disciples.

When we say we are disciples of the Lord Jesus, do we understand the implications of that?

If we are disciples of the Lord Jesus, we would listen to Moses. The other way round is also true because it comes from the same source. The God who has spoken through the Lord Jesus is the same God who has spoken through Moses.

We say we believe in the Lord Jesus. Then, do we believe what God has said through the Lord Jesus, what God had said through Moses, what God has said through the apostle Paul, what God has said throughout the Scriptures? Do we believe that?

If we believe that, then we need to evaluate our lives and consider: Are we living our lives on that basis?

We acknowledge the Lord Jesus as our Saviour, we are grateful to Him. We profess that and we readily acknowledge that. It is important for us to consider: What does that mean?

In my daily life, in the things I do each day, in the way I live and speak and respond, am I living as a disciple of the Lord Jesus? Am I expressing my gratitude to Him by the way I live? Am I communicating my faith in Him in practical terms?

Many of you may have heard of the story of this man who was a tight-rope walker and he asked the crowd: "Do you believe that I can carry a man on my back and walk on this tight-rope from this tall building to the next, bring him safely across, without a net underneath?"

One man responded very loudly, "Yes, of course, I believe!"

So the man said, "Come, hop on my back and let's go."

The man disappeared... could not find him any more.

So it is easy for us to say we believe but what kind of belief is that? True, of course, the man may believe to some extent. He thinks he can do it but he is not prepared to take the risk in case he fails. So his belief may be only very partial.

So what kind of belief do we have in the Lord Jesus? What kind of disciples are we? We say we follow Him - a little bit, or we follow Him fully?

So it is good for us to come before the Lord, ask Him to search our hearts, and if we are not truly, fully His disciples, then we need to correct that, and affirm before Him that He is our Lord and we will follow Him whatever He calls us, whatever He teaches us, whatever He requires of us.

Whatever God has shown to us, in the Scriptures, in whatever way that He chooses to speak to us and show to us, are we prepared to obey Him, to follow Him, and to walk with Him?

Let us ask Him to search our hearts and help us to ponder over the meaning of our faith in Him, our commitment to Him, our being His disciples. What does it mean to us in our daily lives? Does it cost us anything? Does it bring us to a higher plane of living in this world? Does it make a difference in our daily lives? What does it mean?