Fully Devoted: The ConclusionSample

Discipleship Is the Process of Becoming Like Jesus for the Sake of Others

Discipleship is not a one-time decision, but an ongoing process. It’s the daily commitment to choose obedience to God’s words over obedience to our desires. It’s a journey filled with ups and downs, highs and lows, victories and defeats, as we stumble and fumble our way after Jesus.

Discipleship is a process that changes us from the inside out to become the kind of people who look like Jesus, live like Jesus, and love like Jesus. From what we say to how we think, to the choices we make, every part of who we are is remade to be consistent with who Jesus is. We let go of who we once were so that we can grab on to who we’re meant to be. Sacrifice and self-denial are essential ingredients as we learn to live by the Spirit of God.

And all of this is for the good of others. The Jesus we serve took the posture of a servant. He didn’t use His position as the Son of God for His own advantage, but intentionally disadvantaged Himself in His mission to bring others into the Kingdom. As we follow Him, we will find ourselves continually laying down our privilege, platform, and power to lift up others.

Discipleship is the process of becoming like Jesus for the sake of others. It’s living the way of Jesus so we can experience the life of Jesus: a life defined by the unforced rhythms of grace. A life that is good, and true, and beautiful.

In Luke’s Gospel, after being filled with the Holy Spirit at His baptism, Jesus makes His way back to His home to begin His three-year ministry.

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. Luke 4:14-15 NIV

Jesus went in the power of the Spirit. Before the Spirit of God was poured out on us, it was dwelling in Jesus. And it was by the power of the Spirit that Jesus performed miracles, taught with authority, cast out demons, and called His disciples.

The first thing the Spirit led Jesus to do though, was to go into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Luke 4:1-2). The first thirteen verses of this chapter of Luke’s Gospel bring us into an encounter between our Spirit-filled Savior and Satan, the deceiver. The devil challenges Jesus with temptations, and Jesus responds faithfully.

Sidenote: Isn’t it amazing how everything Jesus asks us to do, He’s already done? We’ve been called to respond faithfully to everyday trials, practice spiritual disciplines, and allow the Spirit of God to work in us. And Jesus did all three of those things in this wilderness encounter with the devil. It was the Spirit that led Him into the wilderness. While there, He practiced the spiritual discipline of fasting, and He responded to the temptations of the devil with faith.

After all of that, we’re told He returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit. Part of what this passage of Scripture is showing us is that experiencing the power of the Spirit often comes through obeying the prompting of the Spirit. Luke continues in verse 16:

He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:16-19 NIV

Here is Jesus, announcing His public ministry by reading these words written by the Prophet Isaiah. These words are gospel (good news) for the poor, the imprisoned, the blind, and the oppressed. They are good news because Jesus has been empowered by the Spirit of the Lord to declare the year of the Lord’s favor. Jesus is saying that He is the Messiah promised in the Scriptures, and the time has arrived for God to rescue us from sin and restore us to our role as His partners.

Don’t miss this. The focus of Jesus’ gospel is the rescue, redemption, and renewal of others. And as His disciples, His followers, we do everything we can to love others the same way Jesus has loved us. Because that’s what it means to be a fully devoted follower of Christ. It’s about becoming the kind of person who loves God with every fiber of our being and loves others the same way Jesus loves us.

Discipleship is the process of becoming like Jesus for the sake of others. When we respond faithfully to everyday trials, practice spiritual disciplines, and partner with the Holy Spirit’s work in us, the power of God is unleashed in and through our lives. It’s a power that reaches out to the forgotten, lifts up the downtrodden, and brings the lost back home.

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:42-45 NIV

Journaling Questions

• What verses stand out to you the most in today’s reading? Write them in your journal.
• How does the gospel help you orient your life towards others?
• What’s one others-focused action step you can take this week to love like Jesus? What’s your plan?

Memory Verse

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35 NIV