The Heart of a Disciple - Part 3

A disciple of Christ:

1.  Unwavering Loyalty

2.  Undivided Love

3.  Heart that puts Him first

4.  Obey Him

5.  Bear Fruit

6.  Love Each Other

Matthew 28:18-20 [NIV], Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you!

“The success of the Great Commission and our success in being His disciples hinges on our willingness and ability to LEARN from His teachings.” 

Matthew 11:28-29 [NIV], “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke [teachings] upon you and learn from Me [“following Me as My disciple”], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Matthew 5:1-2 [NKJV], And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them…

• Disciple means; “to learn.”  

• “A disciple is a life-long learner, one who follows both the teaching and the teacher.”

5 Common Barriers of Adult Learning:  

1.  A lack of time

2.  A lack of balance 

3.  A lack of motivation 

4.  A lack of flexibility 

5.  A lack of a supportive community

We can redefine learning…

1.  By believing that hearing the teachings of Jesus equals being a learner of Jesus.

2.  By believing that observing others function in the kingdom equals being a 

     learner of Jesus. 

James 1:22-25 [AMP], But prove yourselves doers of the word [actively and continually obeying God’s precepts], and not merely listeners [who hear the word but fail to internalize its meaning], deluding yourselves… 23 For if anyone only listens to the word without obeying it, he is like a man who looks very carefully at his natural face in a mirror; 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he immediately forgets what he looked like. 25 But he who looks carefully into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and faithfully abides by it, not having become a [careless] listener who forgets but an active doer [who obeys], he will be blessed and favored by God in what he does [in his life of obedience].

John 6:45 [NKJV], It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’  Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.

Philippians 4:9 [NLT], Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing.  Then the God of peace will be with you.

We need to do these things if we want to reclaim a posture of learning…

1.  Make time

2.  Find balance 

3.  Have motivation 

4.  Be flexible 

5.  Be open to the support of community

1.  Straighten out our priorities

2.  Find a new rhythm

3.  Have hunger and motivation

4.  Be willing to unlearn things

5.  Be willing to accept discipline

6.  Be open to the church community 

7.  Commit to being a life-long learner

Proverbs 12:1 [NLT], To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction.