O soul, are you troubled and
weary? No light in the darkness you
see. There's light for a look at the
Savior. Life more abundant and free Turn
your eyes upon Jesus Look full in His wonderful face And the
things of earth will grow strangely dim In the light of His glory
and grace Oh, so did life everlasting He
passed and we'd follow Him there Over us in no more half dominion
For more than conquerors we are Turn your eyes upon Jesus Look
full in His wonderful face And the scenes of earth will grow
strange and dim In the light of His glory and grace His word shall not fail you,
He promised. Defeat Him and all will be well. Then go to this world that is
dying, His perfect salvation to tell. Turn your eyes upon
Jesus Look full in His wonderful face Things of earth will grow
strange and dim In the light of His glory and
grace Would you turn with me to John
chapter 9, verse 26. Then said they to him again,
what did he to thee? How opened he thine eyes? He
answered them, I have told you already, and you
did not hear. Wherefore would you hear it again?
Will you also be his disciples? Then they reviled him and said,
thou art his disciple, but we are Moses' disciples. I've entitled this message, Will
You Be His Disciple? Now you can't help but like this
man that we read of. He saw through the phoniness
and the religiosity of the Pharisees. And when he asked him this question,
will you also be his disciples? I think he was doing it to get
under their skin. And it worked because it says
in verse 28, they reviled him and said, thou art his disciple,
but we are Moses' disciple. But let's take this question
to ourselves. Do you wish, do you want, Do
you desire, when God looks into your heart, does He see someone
who truly wishes to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ? Will
you be His disciple? Now that question cannot be answered
unless we know what a disciple of Christ is. I've been thinking
about this ever since Sunday when we considered his disciples
and his doctrine, and I was asking myself the question, what is
a disciple of Christ? Now the word disciple is literally
a learner, one who follows one's teaching. Look with me
for a moment in Matthew chapter 13. Matthew chapter 13, verse 52,
therefore said he unto them, or then said he unto them, therefore
every scribe which is instructed, or literally has been made a
disciple, that's the word, has been made a disciple. Every scribe
that has been made a disciple in the kingdom of God is like
a man that's a householder, which brings forth out of his treasure
things new and things old. You see, when you've been made
a disciple, there's things new. Oh, the newness of his grace.
It's always new, isn't it? You know, when you hear the gospel,
it's not old. It's new. It's good news, isn't
it? And you also delight in things old. The covenant of grace. the eternal work of Christ. Everybody
that's been instructed, everybody that's been made a disciple delights
in things new and old. So the disciples of Christ are
they who hold to the doctrine of Christ. But it's more than
agreeing with the teaching, it's following the teacher. Being
an adherent, one who follows and sticks to the teacher. Now
this thing of being a disciple of Christ, I sure am interested
in being a disciple of Christ. I want to be the real thing,
don't you? I want to be a disciple of Christ. Being a disciple of
Christ is a supernatural thing. A disciple of Christ is made
so by the power of Christ. I love that passage of scripture
we open with. Our Lord said, all power is given
unto me in heaven and in earth. that you go, therefore, and make
disciples of every nation." You see, a disciple is made by the
power of the Lord Jesus Christ. Actually, the only way a disciple
can be a disciple is by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ causing
them to be disciples. Now, it's true, a disciple of
Christ is still a man with a weak and sinful human nature, And
that is why all the disciples at the time of the crucifixion,
all the disciples forsook him and bled. That is why when that
little maid asked Peter, are thou one of his disciples? He
said, no, no. He was afraid to be identified
as one of the disciples of Christ. But a true disciple of Christ
is a miracle of God's grace. the result of the mighty power
and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, will you be His disciple? When God looks into your heart,
does He see someone who truly desires to be a disciple of the
Lord Jesus Christ? Will you be His disciple? Well, who are the disciples of
Christ? First, they are the ones that
the Lord Jesus Christ loves. Look in John chapter 13. I love the way John always refers
to himself in this way. You know, when he refers to himself,
he refers to that disciple that Jesus loved. Look in verse 23. Now there was leaning on Jesus
bosom one of his disciples whom Jesus loved. You know preachers
love to get their name plastered all over the place. Not John. He wouldn't even refer to his
own name. He called himself that disciple whom Jesus loved. That's his identity. The disciples,
the true disciples are those whom the Lord Jesus Christ loves. Now obviously He doesn't love
everybody. He said, Esau have I hated. And to talk about the universal
love of Christ is to make his love meaningless. He loves his
elect. He loves those who believe. He loves those who are his, his
people. Now, who is a disciple? It's
somebody who is loved. by the Lord Jesus Christ. Would
you be his disciple? Oh, I want to be somebody that
he loves, don't you? I want to be somebody that his
affection is toward. I want to be one of his disciples. His disciples are they whom he
loves. Do you want to be one of his
disciples? I do. I do. I want to be somebody that
he loves. His disciples are those who believe. John chapter 2 verse 11, His
disciples believed on Him. They believe on Him. They trust
Him. They rely upon Him. Right now, I am relying upon
Jesus Christ as my righteousness before God. I am relying upon
His grace. to keep me from falling. I'm
relying, I'm trusting Him to present me before the Father. I am relying on Christ. That's all I've got to rely on.
I'm not looking anywhere else. God is my witness. I don't have
any hope in myself. My hope is Him. Every believer is someone who
believes on Him. This is God's work in him. I
love that verse of scripture in John chapter 6, verse 29.
The Lord said, this is the work of God. This is God's work. This is what God does. This is
the work of God. That you believe on Him whom
He hath sent. Now this is what disciples do.
They believe the gospel. You see, they're loved by Christ.
And the reason they have faith is because Christ loves them.
And He gave them that faith. He gave them a new nature. He
gave them a nature to believe. And they believe the gospel. Look in John chapter 8. Verse 30. As he spake these words,
many believed on him. Then said Jesus to those Jews
which believed on him, if you continue in my word, then Are
you my disciples? Indeed. Who are his disciples? Those who continue in his word. Now his word is everything he
said. Can you do without anything that he said? If he revealed
it, it's of critical importance. I'm amazed by people who sit
in judgment over the Word of God and they say, well, this
part's important and this part's less important. You got the sense
to figure that out? If He revealed it, it's of critical importance.
This is His Word. And our Lord says, if you continue
in My Word. Now, what is His Word? There's
a lot of things I could say about His Word. Everything He said.
But here's the Scripture that came to my mind when I was thinking
about this. 1 Corinthians 1.18 says, for
the preaching of the cross. And that word preaching is actually
the word word. Same word he uses when he says,
if you continue in my word, this is his truth. This is his doctrine. The preaching of the cross, the
word of the cross. If you continue in the word of
the cross, you don't leave. You stay right there. The word
of the cross. What is the word or the doctrine
or the preaching of the cross? It's that preaching that tells
the truth concerning who man is. This is a painful thing to
think about. But I think of the Lord Jesus
Christ being flung down on that cross and men taking nails and
driving them through His hands and His feet and pressing the
crown of thorns and lifting up at the stand and dropping it
there and starting to make fun of Him. That tells me the truth.
That tells me the truth about man. That's the truth about me. If
God left me to myself, that's what I would be. That's what
I am. I'm not saying that's what I'd
be. That's what I am. And the only way I can be saved is by
the grace of God because that's me. The cross tells me the truth
concerning the true character of God. His holiness. He hates sin. He will not let
it go unpunished even when sin is found on His sons. But oh,
what love and grace that He would take the sins of His people and
make them His sons to where His son was guilty. I see the wisdom
of God. I see the justice of God. Every
attribute of God. I stay there. You continue in
his word. We'll continue in salvation by
the cross. Do you ever get tired of salvation
by the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ? You know, the cross is
the whole counsel of God. All God has to say, all he reveals
about himself is revealed in the cross. If you continue, you
don't leave there. You continue in my word, then
are you my disciples indeed. Now that word continue is translated
several different ways in the New Testament. It's called abide.
If you abide in my word, then are you my disciples indeed.
Dwell. If you dwell in my word, then
are you my disciples indeed. Endure. If you endure in my word,
if you remain in my word, if you stand in my word, you won't
be knocked down. You take your stand there. If
you tarry in my word, Oh, the word of the Lord Jesus Christ.
What you think about Jesus Christ himself, what you think about
his person is seen in what you think of his word, what he said. If my words abide in you, if
you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed. Now, will you be his disciple?
By his grace, will you continue in his word? Turn to John 13. verse 34 the Lord says a new commandment
I give unto you this is a commandment that you
love one another as I have loved you that you also love one another
by this shall all men know that you are my disciples if you have
love one to another. Now this is so glorious. I love the Lord Jesus Christ.
I do. I think where the Lord said to
Peter, Peter, do you love me? He said, Lord, you know all things.
You know that I love you. I love his person. I love him. But you don't show whether or
not I really love him. By my love, do you? That's what demonstrates
it. He said, by this shall all men
know you're my disciples. Not by your doctrinal stance,
although we're not taking away from the importance of that,
but by your love one to another. This is God's commandment. I
got a letter from Henry Mahan last week, and he wrote this. Let me give you the outline.
He gave me this little outline, and he said, can a person be
without love and still be a Christian? And he quoted 1 John chapter
4. Would you turn there? 1 John
chapter 4. Verse 7, Beloved, let us love
one another, 1 John 4, 7, for love is of God, and everyone
that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not
knoweth not God, for God is love. Now, here's the outline he gave.
I thought this was so good. He says, first of all, love is
a commandment. It's not an option. It's a commandment. Secondly,
love is the evidence of salvation. By this shall all men know you're
my disciples, by your love one to another. Third, love is the
fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit. is love. Love is the crowning grace. Paul
said, now abide in faith, hope, charity, these three. But the
greatest of these is what? Love. It's the only one that's
going to last. My faith is going to be turned into sight. My hope
is going to be turned into experience. There won't be any need for faith
or hope. But love will continue forever. And love is the ultimate
proof of His love to us. 1 John 4, 19 says we love Him.
Because He first loved us. That's why we love. Because He
first loved us. Look in John 15. Will you be His disciples? I
want to ask that after every one of those points. This is
the evidence of being His disciple. You love one to another. Will
you be His disciple? Is that your desire? Is that
your wish? Will you be His disciple? Look here in John 15. Verse 8, Herein is my Father glorified
that you bear much fruit, so shall you be my disciples. He's talking about the fruit
of God the Holy Spirit. Now every believer has the fruit
of the Spirit. You have the fruit of the Spirit
when you're born of the Spirit. You're given the, you're made
a partaker of the divine nature. The fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. That's the fruit of God the Holy
Spirit. Those who bear this fruit are
his disciples. Every single disciple bears the
fruit of God the Holy Spirit. Will you be his disciple? You know, when the Lord gave
the parable of the sower, you remember the stony ground here,
and the thorn-choked here, and the good ground here? You remember
those three? There was the wayside here. He
didn't hear anything. He didn't. But the other two
fellas received what they heard. The stony ground here, when he
heard it, he heard the truth and he received it right off
the bat. He said, this is good. I believe this. And the thorn
choked here. He received it too. But what
happened? What happened to these fellas? They didn't bear fruit. The stony ground here left. He couldn't take the Persecution
that came because of the Word. And he left the Gospel. It wasn't
worth it to him. The other fellow just became
overcome with the cares of this life and the deceitfulness of
riches and the lusts of other things. All those things the
Lord talked about. And he brought no fruit. But the good ground
here, what did he do? He brought forth fruit. Some
thirtyfold, some sixty, some a hundred. But they brought forth
fruit. His disciples bring forth fruit. Will you be his disciple? Turn to Luke 14, verse 25. And there went great multitudes
with him, and he turned and said unto them,
If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and
wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own
life also, he cannot be my disciple." Now what's the Lord saying? Is
He telling us to positively hate our relatives? Our mom and dad,
our husband and wife, and our kids. Well, you know that's not
what he's saying, but he is saying this. In comparison to me, they
got to go. Doesn't matter who it is. Doesn't
matter any kind of human, earthly relationship. You know what always
troubles me? When people hear the gospel, and then they start
thinking about their relatives, and they think, well, they don't
believe this, but I sure... But they're saying, if they don't believe
the gospel, they're not. Now, don't protect your relatives.
Because they're your relatives. When somebody does that, they're
not hating their mother or father or their own life more for my
sake. Do they believe the gospel? That's the issue. That's always
the issue. Do they believe the gospel? Don't try to protect
somebody that doesn't believe. Whose side are you on? Man's
side or the Lord's side? I'm on the Lord's side, not on
man's side. Let God be true and every man
a liar. That's what our Lord is talking
about here. Now look at verse 17, verse 27. And whosoever does
not bear his cross, and come after me cannot be my disciple. Now this cross bearing he's talking
about is the confession of the cross. It's the confession of
the gospel and the persecution that comes along with it. Will
you be his disciple? Even if it means bearing the
cross, even if it means being hated by the world, even if it
means being hated by your relatives, even if it means being the most
close person to you. It doesn't matter. Don't bear your cross. You can't be his disciple. Look
down in verse 33. He says, so likewise, whosoever
he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be
my disciple. Now, I'm to forsake all that
I have. Now what does that mean? I've
been trying to think about that. What does it mean to forsake
all that you have? Well, I'll tell you this. If I'm going to be His
disciple, I'm going to have to out and out renounce my own personal
righteousness. I forsake it. His righteousness
is the only righteousness. I renounce. I forsake all hopes
of self-salvation. I look to Christ alone. And He's my husband. He's my
Lord. He's my Savior. He's my Master.
He's my King. He's my Redeemer. I forsake all
else. If it could, it doesn't matter
You've got to go if it comes between you and him. And that's
the way every believer feels. We forsake all we have, whatever
he calls upon. It's OK. We forsake all we have
to follow the Lord Jesus Christ and bear his reproach. You know, Paul put it this way. Turn to Philippians chapter 3.
I think this will give us some example of what it means to forsake
all for his sake. Philippians chapter 3. Verse 7, But what things were gained to
me, I counted them on the plus side. My religion, my pedigree,
my circumcision, my law keeping. What things were gained to me,
those I counted lost for Christ. Yea, doubtless. And I count all
things but lost. but wreckage, but garbage, for
the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for
whom I've suffered the loss of all things, and do count them
but dung." Now listen, if the things that you've lost for Christ's
sake, if it means anything, you've missed it. Paul said, the stuff
I've lost, I count it but dung. Do you mourn over losing dung? Of course not. You're better
off without it. I count but done that I may win
Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. I want to
be found in Him having His righteousness. Oh, that I might know Him and
the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings.
I want to know what He did He did for me, being made conformable
unto His death. if by any means I might attain
unto the resurrection of the dead. Now that's what he's talking
about when he's talking about forsaking all things. Turn with
me to Matthew chapter 10. Will you be his disciple? Matthew chapter 10, verse 24.
Or verse 23. But when they persecute you in
this city, flee ye into another. For verily I say unto you, you
shall not have gone out over the cities of Israel till the
Son of Man be come. The disciple is not above his
master, nor the servant above his Lord. It's enough for the
disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his Lord. If they've called the master
of the house Beelzebub, How much more should they call them of
his household? You can expect to be called a
demon for the gospel you preach. That's who Beelzebub is. You
can expect that. Our Lord tells us right off the
bat that's going to happen. Now, will you be his disciple? Turn to John 13. John 13. Verse 12, So after he had washed
their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again,
he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? You call
me Master and Lord, and you say well. For so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master,
have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example
that you should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily,
I say unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord, neither
he that is sent greater. that he that sent him. Now if
you know these things, happy are you if you do them. Will you be his disciple? John 15, verse 18. Let's begin verse 17. These things I command you, that
you love one another. If the world hate you, you know
that it hated me before it hated you. If you're of the world,
the world would love his own. But because you're not of this
world, but I've chosen you out of this world, therefore the
world hates you. Remember the word that I said
unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord. If they've
persecuted me, they'll also persecute you. If they've kept my saying,
they'll keep yours also. But all these things were they
doing to me for my name's sake, because they've known not him
that sent me. Will you be his disciple if you're
hated by all men for his sake? Will you be his disciple? Look in John 20. Now here's something that's true
about all of his disciples. This is the thought I'm going
to close with. John chapter 20, verse 20. And when he had so said, he showed
unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad. That's the word that's generally
translated rejoice. Then the disciples rejoiced when
they saw the Lord. Now let me tell you something
about Christ's disciples. They rejoice. And they rejoice particularly
when they see the Lord. When they see the Lord in His
Word. When they see the Lord as their
Savior, as their salvation, as their righteousness, as their
redeemer. Disciples rejoice. Now let me give you some things.
I'm not going to ask you to turn to these scriptures, but I'm
going to give you the scripture references. Let me give you some
things that disciples, a true disciple rejoices in. You can
see if you're a disciple by this. First of all, a disciple rejoices
in the Lord. Philippians 3.1, rejoice in the
Lord. Here's what makes me happy, simply
to be found in Christ. So when God looks at me, all
He sees is Jesus Christ. That's what I rejoice in. I rejoice
in the Lord. The disciple rejoices in the
incarnation of Christ. Many shall rejoice at His birth. Don't you rejoice to know that
God became flesh? That He became man? We rejoice
in His power. Luke 3 13 17 don't you rejoice
to know that Jesus Christ the Lord has all power and all authority
that he controls everything and there's nothing that if he wills
it he's gonna have it because he's got the power to make sure
it comes to pass that makes me rejoice I'm so glad it's that
way to know that Jesus Christ is Lord having all power and
And then we rejoice in His presence with the Father. John 14, 28
said, If you love me, you'd rejoice because I go to my Father. Doesn't
it make you happy to know that He's in His Father's presence
right now? That He is rejoicing before His Father. Oh, what a
thing to rejoice in. I rejoice in His position with
His Father. And we rejoice in His presence
with us. What is greater than to have
the presence of the Lord? Nothing can compare to that.
There's nothing this world has that can compare, even with being
able to hear the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit. I'd
rather have that than anything in this world. Oh, His presence.
We rejoice in His presence. Don't we? I'm with you. Oh, what
a blessing. We don't always feel His presence,
I realize that. A lot of times we don't feel.
A lot of times we don't even think about it. But oh, the Lord gives us
grace to know that He's near. I'm in Him. That's how close
He is. Oh, what a glorious thing it
is to have His presence. We rejoice in hearing the gospel. When the Gentiles heard this
they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord and as many
as were ordained to eternal life believed. But they rejoiced when
they heard the gospel. We rejoice in our salvation. We rejoice in receiving the Lord. I love the way it says Zacchaeus
made haste and came down and received him joyfully. We rejoice in our enrollment
in heaven. I love the way the Lord said to his disciples, and
this, rejoice not that the spirits are subject to you, but rather
rejoice that your names are written in heaven. Isn't that something
to rejoice in? To think my name is in the Lamb's
Book of Life. We rejoice in the liberty that
we have in Christ Jesus. Acts 15, 15. Oh, the liberty,
the freedom. I don't owe anything. I get to
do what I want to. We rejoice in hope. Romans 12, 12. We rejoice
in our prospect of reward, Matthew 5, 12. We rejoice in the obedient
conduct of fellow believers, Romans 16, 19. We rejoice in
the proclamation of the gospel. Paul said, the truth is preached,
therein I do rejoice. And we rejoice in suffering in
the cause of the gospel. The disciples rejoiced that they
were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. We rejoice
in meeting with fellow believers, 1 Corinthians 16, 17. We rejoice
in the well-being of others. I rejoice in your well-being,
2 Corinthians 7, 16. But what we most especially rejoice
in, I just looked at all these different things believers are
said to rejoice in, but what we most especially rejoice in
is we rejoice when we see You know, it's such a drag when we're
just looking at ourselves. It's so discouraging. It sucks
the life out of you to look to yourself. There's nothing there
to be encouraged with. But oh, how we rejoice when we're
enabled to look to Him. When we're able to turn our eyes
upon Jesus and look full in His wonderful face. And the things
of earth grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. What a thing to rejoice to see
that he is my salvation. I love what Simeon said. He said,
Lord, now let us thy servant depart in peace. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation. Jesus Christ is God's salvation. And how we rejoice in seeing
him Then were the disciples glad when they saw him. Now will you be his disciple? Yes. I desire, I wish, I want
to be his disciple. An out and out follower. An adherent. Someone who sticks to by the
grace of God. the Lord Jesus Christ. Will you
also be his disciple by his grace? Yes, I will. Let's pray.