MENS 252 WEEK 2

The Discipline of a 252 Disciple

Luke 9:23

“Then he said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.’”

Big Idea: A real disciple is not formed by inspiration alone, but by daily spiritual discipline under the lordship of Jesus Christ.

Prepared for men of God who want a strong spiritual foundation, holy consistency, and practical obedience.

Discipline is what separates desire from development. I know that men want to be strong in God, but strength is not built by good intentions alone.

• Strength is built by repeated obedience.

• A disciple is not merely a believer who agrees with Jesus; a disciple is a follower who is being shaped by Jesus every day.

Timothy 4:7–8 NIV

Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

1. That word train is intentional language.

A. It speaks of exercise, structure, repetition, and purpose.

• In other words, spiritual maturity does not happen accidentally.

• Salvation is received by grace, but discipleship is lived through surrender, discipline, and obedience.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer warned that grace without discipleship is not biblical grace at all.

Dallas Willard often taught that a disciple is someone who has decided that the most important thing in life is to learn how to do what Jesus said.

2.That is the heart of this message.

A. The discipline of a 252 disciple is the daily ordering of one’s life under the rule of Christ.

Illustration: A building may look impressive above ground, but if its foundation is weak, pressure will eventually expose it. In the same way, public ministry can never remain strong if private discipline is shallow.

I. A 252 Disciple Must Be Disciplined in His Time with God

Mark 1:35

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”

If Jesus, the Son of God, ordered His life around prayer and communion with the Father, then no disciple can afford a prayerless life.

1. The first discipline of a disciple is abiding.

A. Before there is ministry… preaching, serving, leading, or building, there must be a private & corporate meeting with God in our prayer life & in our worship, that’s where intimacy takes place.

• Disciples cannot live on borrowed revelation. What we hear from others… we need to hear from God for ourselves as well.

B. A disciple must know how to read the word, study the word, and apply the word to everyday life as well as prayer, and develop a secret place & history with God.

Jesus said in John 15:4–5,

“Remain in me… for apart from me you can do nothing.”

2. That is not a suggestion; it is a spiritual reality.

A. We do not remain fruitful by gifting, personality, charisma, or momentum.

• We remain fruitful by abiding in Christ.

AW. Tozer consistently emphasized that shallow Christianity comes from shallow communion.

A. Men who neglect the secret place eventually lose power in the public place.

• But men who cultivate the presence of God carry stability, discernment, and grit.

Application: A disciplined 252 disciple makes time with God a priority, not an afterthought. Before social media, before tv series, before the weekly schedule, a 252 man gives God the first attention of his day.

• Ask yourself…Am I making time for Him in prayer?

• Ask yourself… What do I have to change to be available for God?

• What are my action steps & who will I license to hold me accountable to that?

II. A Disciple Must Be Disciplined in Denial and Obedience

1. Healthy patterns create stronger disciplines.

Luke 9:23

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?

Discipleship is not built on convenience. It is built on surrender.

A. A man cannot follow Christ faithfully while still allowing his flesh, his pride and His excuses to sit on the throne. Jesus must be King & on the Throne!

James 1:22-25 says,

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

Discipleship must move from LEARNING GOD’S WORD TO LIVING GOD’S WORD!

• It is possible to hear truth, admire truth, even preach truth, and still refuse to obey truth.

• But obedience is where transformation happens.

2. OUR Love for Christ is proven in our obedience to Christ.

John 14:15-18

“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

A. The disciplined 252 disciple learns to say no to compromise in our commitment to God’s word, secret sins and spiritual laziness and yes to the voice of God in God’s word & Holy Spirit moments where he speaks through a message, a brother, or through His word!

We reproduce what we do, not what we say. Don’t tell me what you believe show me what you beleive by how you live.

3. A 252 disciple practices immediate obedience not delayed obedience.

Illustration: A soldier who hears the command but refuses to move is not prepared for battle. In the same way, the disciple who hears God, but delays obedience will never walk in the fullness of his calling.

• Ask yourself, “What has God already told me to do that I keep postponing?”

• Who have I allowed to hold me accountable to what I know I need to do next.

The breakthrough for men is not more information, it found as you live in immediate & accountable obedience to Jesus.

III. A 252 Disciple Must Be Disciplined in Endurance, Accountability, and Mission

1. Paul compares the spiritual life to an athlete under strict training.

1 Corinthians 9:24–27

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

A. Paul is teaching us that a disciple does not drift into maturity by accident.

• He trains with purpose.

• He makes choices that strengthen endurance.

• He prioritizes his life around the prize.

Hebrews 12:1–2 tells us

to throw off every weight and the sin that so easily entangles and to run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus.

Discipline means we identify what weakens us and we remove it from our daily lives. We stop making peace with what slows us down.

1. This is why every one of us need relationships that sharpen us, and not relationships that dull us in our walk with Jesus.

Proverbs 27:17 says,

“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”

Men of God need accountability, correction, brotherhood, and encouragement.

• Lone-ranger Christianity often produces blind spots and burnouts.

2. Finally, 252 disciplined disciples reproduce.

2 Timothy 2:2 shows that…

what has been entrusted must be passed to faithful men who will teach others also.

A. Healthy discipline does not terminate on self-improvement.

• It re-produces & multiplies… I don’t only focus on myself, I want other men to win at this as well!

• The disciplined 252 disciple becomes a builder of other men.

Illustration: A fire that’s never fed the right fuel eventually fades. In the same way, the man who stops training, stops sharpening, and stops pouring into others will slowly lose spiritual edge.

Application: Discipline means staying in the race, staying in brotherhood, and staying on mission. God did not call us merely to start well, but to finish well.

Ask yourself… Who have you licensed to help you sharpen your disciplines.

• What relationships just dull & need to diminish so that sharpening relationships increase.

• Where do you need to be sharpened most in?

3. IT IS your responsibility to look for someone to Disciple you, sharpen you and walk beside you to be a 252 disciple!

A. Biblical discipline protects your walk with Christ.

Philippians 2:12-15

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky

Accountability is not legalism; it is alignment.

Discipline is how a disciple keeps his heart on fire for Jesus his mind clear, his walk clean, and his calling steady.

The enemy loves spiritual laziness because it makes men passive, weak, distracted, and vulnerable. But a holy discipline makes men strong, watchful, dependable, and fruitful.

So let this be the charge:

1. Build your life on daily time with God.

2. Build your life on obedience without delay.

3. Build your life on endurance, accountability, and mission.

4. Do not be a man who only talks about following Jesus. Be a man who orders his whole life around following Jesus.

For many of you… Your wife needs a disciplined man of God.

• Your children need a disciplined man of God.

• Your church needs a disciplined man of God.

• This generation does not need more hype; it needs men with roots, prayer, conviction, purity, and consistency.

Let God raise up men who are not moved by feelings but governed by truth, formed by the Spirit, and anchored in Christ.

• If the foundation is strong, the life will stand.

• If the disciplines are holy, the man will remain fruitful.

• If the man stays surrendered, the disciple will become the kind of builder God can trust.

Declaration of Application

Today I submit myself again to Jesus Christ.

I will be a disciple with daily discipline.

I will make time with God my priority.

I will obey quickly when the Lord speaks.

I will reject compromise, passivity, and distraction.

I will pursue endurance, accountability, and mission.

I will strengthen my foundation as a man of God.

By the grace of God, I will not drift—I will grow.

By the Spirit of God, I will not quit—I will finish.

By the power of Christ, I will become a faithful 252 disciple who helps build other faithful men.