Daily Discipleship

Text: Luke 9:23

If we are going to be faithful disciples of Christ, it is important that we recognize what we are to do daily. Obviously, Gospel Meetings and the regular assemblies of the church are important (Hebrews 10:25), but there is more to being a disciple than just what we do in the assembly. This lesson will focus on what we must do daily as disciples of Christ.

Fear God (Joshua 4:24)

  • Fear the Lord your God forever” (NASB) – most translations say the same or similar
  • Note these alternate translations – “Fear the Lord your God every day of your life” (God’s Word Translation); “Fear Yahweh your Elohim every day of your life” (Names of God Bible)
  • This is the sense of the word “forever” – all of your days, every day
  • Our purpose in life is to fear God (Ecclesiastes 12:13; Acts 10:34-35) – necessarily results in obedience; this is something we do on a daily basis

Pray to God (Matthew 6:11)

  • When Jesus taught about prayer, He presented a “model prayer” (Matthew 6:9-13) – in praying for food, we are to pray for our “daily bread“; this implies that we pray every day
  • We pray to express thanksgiving to God (Philippians 4:6) – if we have things to be thankful for every day, then we must pray every day (James 1:17)
  • We pray for our physical needs (Matthew 6:11) – needed daily, so we must pray every day
  • We pray for the needs of others (1 Timothy 2:1; Romans 10:1) – needed daily, so we must pray every day
  • We must have a consistent habit of prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17; Colossians 4:2)

Read/Study the Bible (Acts 17:11)

  • The Bereans examined the Scriptures daily – they were called noble-minded for this
  • This was more than casual reading – they were searching to see if what Paul taught was true; it was an effort to determine the truth
  • We are to diligently study the Scriptures (2 Timothy 2:15) – God expects us to accurately handle His word (cf. Ephesians 3:4; 5:17)
  • We are to grow in our knowledge of His word (1 Peter 2:2)

Exhort Others (Hebrews 3:12-13)

  • We assemble to encourage one another (Hebrews 10:25) – but it is rare that churches will assemble daily
  • Exhorting/encouraging ought to be something we do on a consistent basis
  • This is important so that no one will develop an evil, unbelieving heart – it is possible for Christians to fall away (2 Peter 2:20)
  • How can Christians fall away? – by being hardened by the deceitfulness of sin
  • Satan is hunting Christians (1 Peter 5:8) – it is easier for him when we are isolated from other Christians

Deny Self and Serve God (Luke 9:23)

  • Taking up our cross is something to be done daily – we are sacrificing our lives for Him (Romans 12:1)
  • This means we must seek to do His will, not our own – example of Jesus (John 6:38; Philippians 2:5-8)
  • This means we must act with humility toward Him and His word (James 4:6; 1:21)
  • Not something that we can do sporadically whenever it is convenient for us – we must consistently follow Him

Conclusion

  • If we want to be Jesus’ disciples, we must follow Him daily – these are some things we need to do
  • This requires a commitment of time, energy, and priorities – but this is what He has called us to do

(Adapted from an outline by Tim Haile.)