Discipleship Essentials: Faith, Service, and Sacrifice

Summary

Based on the Gospel of Mark 9, this article outlines core discipleship principles. Faith in God, not experience or skill, brings spiritual victory through believing prayer and God’s Word. True greatness comes through serving others, not self-promotion. Discipleship also requires sacrificial obedience, valuing eternal life above earthly comforts. When believers live as daily offerings to God, their love becomes visible through humble service and costly devotion.

Discipleship Essentials

In Mark 9:14-50, Jesus established basic discipleship essentials that apply as much to the twenty-first century as to the first. The first is that your faith enables you to overcome difficulties.

Depending on God, Not Experience

Jesus, Peter, James, and John returned from the mountaintop experience of the transfiguration to find the other disciples and scribes arguing. The disciples could not cast a demon out of a man’s son.

Jesus was upset at their failure. The problem was not a lack of education or experience.

Their education and experience may have been hindrances. Mark 6 indicates they had already cast out many demons when they were sent out two by two. Perhaps confidence in themselves had replaced their previous confidence in God.

It can happen to you. At first, you know you must depend on God to teach a lesson or do a certain ministry. You experience success. You have everything under control!

Not so. Polished presentations of the gospel save no one. Apart from trust in God, your best ministry efforts can do nothing (John 15:5).

Strengthening Faith Through Prayer and God’s Word

They brought the demon-possessed boy to Jesus. The disciples’ failure had shaken the father's faith. He said, “But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us" (Mark 9:22, NIV).

You can probably identify with his mixture of faith and unbelief. I can. 

Jesus addressed his doubts, “Everything is possible for one who believes” (Mark 9:23, NIV). Faith is your grasp of God’s highest willingness to help you.

On one hand, you believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior. On the other hand, you might think you cannot talk about your faith with someone else.

You cannot complete some difficult task God assigns. Through Christ who strengthens you, you can (Philippians 4:13)!

When the disciples privately asked Jesus why they failed, He explained that believing prayer is the way to spiritual victory. You can progressively strengthen your faith by spending more time in God’s word (Romans 10:17).

True Greatness Through Serving Others

There is a second principle of following Jesus. Serving others promotes you (Mark 9:33-37).

On the way to Capernaum, the disciples argued about which of them was the greatest. Wanting to be number one is natural. But Jesus’ prescription for greatness is the world’s standard turned upside down.

The greatest in the kingdom is the one who serves best. Pursuing the best for yourself hurts the effectiveness of your Christian life and the life of your church.

Serving fulfills and elevates you. There is one more following Jesus principle.

Sacrifice That Purifies the Heart

Giving Jesus what you value purifies you (Mark 9:38-50). It frees you from the paralyzing grip of material things.

Eternal life is unimaginably valuable—worth your most prized possessions to obtain it (Mark 9:43-50).

Jesus did not mean you should cut off your hands or feet or pluck out your eyes (Mark 9:43-48). He is saying you must use radical means to counteract sin.

Living Daily as God’s Offering

The cutting off of an offending member is carried further in verse Mark 9:49. Every disciple is to be God’s sacrifice. That is your daily, moment-by-moment assignment.

People know we are Christians by our love. They know we love by our sacrifices. S

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