Pleasing God Podcast
Pleasing God Podcast
The Call of Discipleship: What it Means to Follow Jesus
What does it truly mean to follow Jesus? In a world where Christianity is often reduced to Sunday attendance and general morality, we need to rediscover the radical nature of discipleship that Jesus actually calls us to.
The call to follow Jesus is fundamentally personal. When Jesus walked along the Sea of Galilee calling his first disciples, he wasn't inviting them to join a religion or adopt a philosophy—he was calling them to himself. Simon, Andrew, James, and John didn't hesitate; they immediately left their nets, boats, and livelihoods to follow him. This teaches us a profound truth: for everything we say yes to, we must say no to something else. Saying yes to Jesus means leaving our old life behind.
Jesus never sugarcoated the cost of discipleship. He explicitly told his followers to deny themselves, take up their cross daily, and follow him. Self-denial means surrendering control and saying no to our own desires when they conflict with Christ's calling. Taking up our cross involves daily dying to self—putting to death our selfish ambitions. Yet here's the beautiful paradox: through this death comes true life. As Jesus said, "Whoever loses his life for my sake will save it." While the world promises freedom but delivers slavery, Jesus demands surrender but gives abundant life.
The question we must each answer is this: Are we followers of Jesus or merely fans? Have we responded to his personal call? Are we willing to count the cost? What comfort or security are we unwilling to surrender? Take a moment to identify one act of obedience you've delayed, and commit to taking that step this week. Remember, the Christ who calls you is the Christ who walks with you—"Christ in you, the hope of glory."
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Hi and welcome back to the Pleasing God podcast, a show focused on helping Christians to think biblically, engage practically and live faithfully for the glory of God. I'm your host, jonathan Soule, and on the last episode we introduced season four. Caitlin and I sat down, had a great conversation reflecting on life events, things that have happened and the path ahead, focusing on faithfulness in the midst of hard things, and it was a great show and it was a good conversation to be able to have. I want to kind of follow up with that and talk about discipleship, really the call of discipleship, what it means to follow Jesus. This is so important and I think there can be misunderstandings. Sometimes people can be more of fans than followers.
Speaker 1:And what does the Bible say about discipleship? What does the Bible show us about what it means to be a true follower of Jesus? When Jesus calls someone, when Jesus says, follow me, he's never asking for part-time commitment. He's not talking about some of your life given to Jesus. It's not go to church on Sunday and then try to live good the rest of the week. That's not what it means to follow Jesus. Following Jesus is much more than church and morality. It's truly seeing him, understanding him, knowing him in his word and being transformed by him. And so I want to look through kind of three aspects of the call to discipleship, what it looks like to be a true follower of Jesus, all rooted in the scriptures and all helpful for us to think biblically about this, to engage practically and ultimately the end to be faithful, to live faithfully for the glory of God.
Speaker 1:And the first thing I want us to consider about discipleship is that the call is personal. At the beginning of Jesus's ministry, after his baptism, he calls his first disciples. In Mark 1, verse 16, it reads passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them follow me and I will make you become fishers of men. And immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on a little farther, he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. And immediately he called to them and they left their father, zebedee, in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.
Speaker 1:This passage says a lot about the call to discipleship and I want us to understand foundationally the call is personal. Jesus calls individuals to follow him. He calls them by name, he summons them and calls them to himself. It's important to note Jesus doesn't call us to an idea, call us to a religion, call us to a ritual, call us to a set of rules. He calls us to himself personally.
Speaker 1:To be a disciple of Jesus Christ is to follow Jesus. It sounds simple because it is, and notice the response that all of these people gave. They didn't say let me contemplate that that's a good proposition, jesus, let me think about it. Let me just can I have my fishing business and follow you? Jesus' call is personal and their response is immediate. They went and left what they had, what they knew, they stepped away from their comfort zone and they followed him.
Speaker 1:An important principle that I seek to live by and I share with people in my congregation, people that I counsel in my own life, is for everything that you say yes to, you have to say no to something else, and so we want to think about what are we saying yes to and what are we saying no to. And in this case, for Simon and Andrew, james and John, saying yes to Jesus meant they were leaving their old life behind. This is so important to understand. To follow Jesus means to stop following any and all other things. The call to follow Jesus is individual, it is immediate and it is sacrificial Again, very important to understand. And so ask yourself, as you're thinking about this, as you're hearing this have I personally responded to Jesus's call or am I just kind of coasting? Am I kind of half in, half out, or am I all in? Am I following Jesus today? Am I trusting in Jesus? Is my life being shaped and molded around Jesus and his teaching? Do the things that matter in my life? Are those the things that matter to Christ? Are those the things that matter to Jesus? Am I following him faithfully, sincerely? Is that my desire? All great questions to ask and also important to recognize.
Speaker 1:In the individual call it is personal, because Jesus calls persons. So if you're a young person, ask the question are you following Jesus or are you following your parents' faith? Following your parents' faith is not discipleship, that's following someone else, but it must be personal, it must be sincere, it must be our faith, our following of Jesus. Saying is true, god has no grandchildren, meaning that we don't vicariously live through someone else's faith, but we are personal, direct followers of Jesus as disciples. So he calls fathers and he calls mothers and he calls children and he calls grandparents. He calls all of them to personally follow him.
Speaker 1:Second thing concerning the call to discipleship is that it's costly. I'm reminded of Jesus's words in Luke 9, verse 23. And he said to all if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me, for whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? Sobering words here and a reminder Jesus doesn't sugarcoat discipleship. Jesus tells it how it is.
Speaker 1:I think sometimes, in an effort to want to get people to follow Jesus, to enter your church, or just if you're driven by numbers, the tendency is to kind of round the edges and kind of soften it, break the edges so that the message seems a little more palatable. Sure, that'll help you gain a large following, but it also strays you away from the Bible. Jesus is very clear what it costs to be his follower and he tells them up front. There's no deceit, there's no trickery, there's no underhanded or tampering with God's word. But here is the open statement of the truth the call is costly.
Speaker 1:Jesus says three things here. If anyone would come after me, first, let him deny himself. This means to say no to the desires of self. This means to not allow self to rule and not to follow one's own passions and desires, but to set them aside. So it is the self-denial, it is the control over self instead of being controlled by self. And so there's this denial. I don't know the man. I am willing to put all of my life on the back to follow Jesus. So the first is a life of self-denial. And the second thing he says is to take up his cross daily.
Speaker 1:Well, in the first century, everyone who heard this knew exactly what Jesus meant. The cross was an instrument of cruelty and death. Everyone feared the cross. He's speaking of crucifixion, the cruel torture and execution by the Romans, the cruel torture and execution by the Romans. It was so cruel and torturous that they would not even crucify their own people. And Jesus says this is what you must do you must strap the instrument of death to your back, to take it up daily. So there's a daily denial and there's a daily dying. Wow, some of you might be listening now and think who in their right mind would want to do this? Somebody that knows what is at stake? And so deny self, die to self.
Speaker 1:And in doing that, here's the third thing and follow me. So it's saying no to self, it's saying no to everything about your own self and saying yes to Jesus. It's saying I will weigh this cost and I will go and I will follow Jesus. That means I will emulate him, I will seek to learn from him, I will sit at his feet, I will read his word and I will be transformed into his likeness. And that's the greatest joy and pursuit really of the Christian life is to grow more and more like Jesus. I mean to be a Christian. That term was used in one of the first churches in Antioch by outsiders who were looking at all these people and they kept talking about Christ, and so the outsiders started calling these people little Christs. They're the Christ people to which the term Christian came. To be a Christian is to be like a little Christ in the way in which we reflect Jesus in our lives, to be conformed to his image, to become more and more like him Christ-likeness and less and less like ourselves.
Speaker 1:That's denial, that's death, that's following Jesus. And he tells us why this is so important, why this hard message actually softens hearts. Because he says for whoever would save his life will lose it. So a life that does not deny self and does not take up the cross is a one that is going to forfeit his life because they're seeking to save it. But whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. Oh friends, this is the paradox of Christianity To save your life, you must be willing to lose it. And we see it fully displayed in Christ. Fully displayed in Christ. For us to be saved, christ had to give up his life, to lay down his life for the salvation of his people.
Speaker 1:I'm reminded of the famous quote by the martyr Jim Elliott, a missionary, who said he is no fool who gives up that which he cannot keep in order to gain what he cannot lose. And we think about it. We spend our whole our existence trying to stay alive, trying to preserve our own lives. All for what? 70 years, 80 years, 90 years, 70 years, 80 years, 90 years? But when we think in terms of eternity, peter says what is your life but a vapor, here one day and gone tomorrow? Maybe we should focus more on giving our lives up for Jesus instead of trying just to preserve our lives for our comfort. Another martyr, dietrich Bonhoeffer, killed by the Nazis during World War II, said quote when Christ calls a man, he bids him to come and die. End quote.
Speaker 1:So let me ask you what comforts of this life are you willing to lay down for Christ? Whatever we have, our prizes, our possessions, the things that we hold dear, and those things are fine to have, they're not bad, they're neutral. It's how we treat them, how we think about them, that matters. Do we hold the things in our life loosely and do we lay hold of Christ tightly? That's what matters.
Speaker 1:And Jesus asked the thought-provoking question for what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? Again, he's thinking of eternity. You can have it all, he's saying, in this life, but at what cost? He's saying the forfeit of your soul. It's not worth it. And this is why this hard message softened hearts and many were willing, and have throughout the centuries, even to this very day, to not deny themselves, to take up their cross to follow Jesus, and some to the point of death. And in death they gained life, everlasting heaven, eternity. And they hear the blessed words that all believers want to hear and long for Well done, good and faithful servant. So the call to discipleship. So the call to discipleship, it's personal and it's costly, but it's life-giving. Jesus says in John, chapter 10, verse 10, the thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly, and that they that he's talking about are his followers. The Bible uses the metaphor of sheep and Jesus being the shepherd, the good shepherd of his sheep, and he says I came to bring life, abundant life. And here it is again, another paradox it's sacrifice that leads to abundant life. Jesus provides the abundant life through giving up his life.
Speaker 1:It's so interesting that the pathway to contentment is not through the accumulation of many things, but the willingness to give up all things. The pathway to joy is not do everything you can to be happy, but to rest in Christ. The pathway to fulfillment and understanding purpose and meaning in this life is to find and understand our created purpose in knowing God and being united to him through his son, jesus Christ, him through his son, jesus Christ. And once all these things are in place, everything starts to make sense, as if we were meant for this.
Speaker 1:Almost every great catechism begins with the question what is the chief end of man, or what is the purpose for which man exists? The world will tell you happiness, contentment, wholeness, fullness, satisfaction. But the Word of God says man's chief end purpose for being is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. It signifies a relationship with God and that we get to enjoy Him and in doing so, all the things that the world longs for is fulfilled in knowing God through Christ. This world promises freedom, but it only delivers slavery. Jesus demands surrender and gives life, for if the Son has set you free, you are free. Indeed, it is life-giving.
Speaker 1:Think about your own life and your own journey, times in which you submitted yourself in obedience to Christ, and how that brought you joy, how obedience and submission brought forth freedom in your life. It's a wonderful thing. To be a follower of Jesus, is a beautiful thing, it's a good thing, it's a noble thing. So ask yourself am I following Jesus as a true disciple or just a fan? Maybe you attend church, maybe you're involved in religious activity, maybe you identify as spiritual.
Speaker 1:Are you a follower of Jesus? Have you responded to his personal call to follow him. Have you recognized that this call is costly? Are you willing to deny yourself, to die to yourself and to follow Jesus? Do you know and have you experienced that this call is life-giving, that through obedience we experience freedom? Are these increasing realities in your life?
Speaker 1:So let me challenge you Identify one act of obedience that you've delayed and take it this week. Maybe there's something that you've been holding on to and you haven't given that to the Lord, whatever that thing might be, and you're delaying in that. Let me just challenge you Give that to the Lord, give that up that you would be a faithful follower, continuing on with Christ. So just to recap, discipleship is personal, discipleship is costly and it is life-giving. I pray you're challenged, maybe convicted, but encouraged to go on, to continue this journey.
Speaker 1:Maybe you're weary, maybe the battle seems to be just overwhelming you. You are not alone. The Christ that calls you is the Christ that walks with you Because, as the Apostle Paul tells us, it is Christ in us, the hope of glory, and I pray that that truth sustains you, motivates you, strengthens you as you seek to be faithful in following Jesus. I want to thank you for listening to the Pleasing God podcast. If you have any questions, I would love to hear from you. You could reach out at questions at pleasinggodpodcastorg. And remember 1 Thessalonians 4.3,. This is the will of God, your sanctification.
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