“When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a

sinful man, O Lord!’ For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish

which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were

partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch

men.’” (Luke 5:8-10)

We can understand

how discipleship

works by studying the story of the miraculous

catch of fish.

Man

Obeying the word of Jesus: “at Your word I will let down the net.” (Luke 5:5)

Accepting God’s holiness: “Depart from me, O Lord!” (Luke 5:8)

Accepting my sinfulness: “I am a sinful man.” (Luke 5:8)

GODLeading, caring and protecting: “Do not be

afraid.” (Luke 5:10)

Preparing me to be a disciple: “I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19)

“And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He

chose twelve whom He also named apostles.” (Luke 6:13)

Apostle means “one who is sent away.”

Jesus picked the twelve apostles to send

them to preach the Gospel as ambassadors of

the Kingdom.

Why did Jesus choose those twelve men?

Was there something special in them?

We don’t for sure which was the occupation

of half of them before following Jesus. Four

of them were fishermen; one of them was

tax collector and one of them was a

revolutionary.

They were no special at all. Nevertheless,

they loved the Kingdom of God. They longed

for being with Jesus. So Jesus “had chosen

them as men whom He could imbue with His

Spirit, and who could be fitted to carry

forward His work on earth when He should

leave it.” (E.G.W., Education, cp. 9, pg. 84)

“Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and

authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the

kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” (Luke 9:1-2)

According to the above quote, how does the great commission work?

“After these things the Lord appointed seventy others

also, and sent them two by two before His face into

every city and place where He Himself was about to go…

Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even

the demons are subject to us in Your name.’” (Luke 10:1,17)

Those 70 disciples were commanded to

preach the Gospel, so preaching is not

reserved to priests and elders only.

Every Christian must be involved in

this mission.

When our mission is successful, Satan is

defeated (v. 18).

The greater the effort, the greater the power

(v. 19).

Our joy should not be rooted in success but

in entering the Kingdom of Heaven

(v. 20).

What did Jesus say about the result of

the seventy’s mission (Luke 10:18-20)?

“As Christ sent forth His disciples, so today He sends forth the

members of His church. The same power that the apostles had

is for them. If they will make God their strength, He will work

with them, and they shall not labor in vain. Let them realize

that the work in which they are engaged is one upon which the

Lord has placed His signet.”

E.G.W. (The Acts of the Apostles, cp. 58, pg. 599)

“Then He said to them all, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him

deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.’” (Luke 9:23)

The cost of discipleship may be summarized in three verbs:

Denying, taking up and following.

Denying myself. I’m no longer my old “me”. That “me” is dead and I’m a new person in Christ.

Taking up my cross. I must accept my new responsibility as a disciple. I may even have to pay a high price to accept it.

Following Jesus. Jesus must be the only one leading my life.

Without people walking in the footprints of

Calvary, there is no Christian discipleship.

“Those who would be victors should contemplate

and count the cost of salvation. Strong human

passions must be subdued; the independent will

must be brought into captivity to Christ. The

Christian is to realize that he is not his own. He will

have temptations to resist, and battles to fight

against his own inclinations; for the Lord will

accept no half-way service. Hypocrisy is an

abomination to Him. The follower of Christ must

walk by faith, as seeing Him who is invisible. Christ

will be his dearest treasure, his all and in all.”

E.G.W. (God’s Amazing Grace, September 20)