The Call to Discipleship and What It Means to Follow Jesus: A Template to Follow Christ

By John K Hulett

The Call to Discipleship and What It Means to Follow Jesus is based on sound biblical truths. Every Scripture verse is inspired by God and given to the Holy Spirit for teaching disciples of Jesus Christ how to live holy and godly lives. For some, the Truth was made known early on in childhood by the Holy Spirit "giving wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus”(2 Timothy 3:15, New American Standard Bible, [NASB]).

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Oct 19, 2020
• ISBN: 9781665501965

John K Hulett

John Hulett was inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit to write The Call to Discipleship and What it Means to Follow Jesus. His discipleship training comes from life experience, education, and most importantly from countless God encounters. Growing up poor in a large family of fourteen—with eleven brothers and sisters—helped build a strong foundation. He was tested under fire for twelve years in the desert with brokenness, sin, and rejection. He received the gifts of humility, poverty, faith, love, and gratitude as a child, accepting God’s invitations without hesitation or question in forty-six silent retreats over the past thirty years. Hulett received a Master of Arts degree in Theological Studies and Apologetics, a Master’s in Organizational Leadership, a Master of Business Administration in Leadership, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Management. He developed intellectual property skills over his business career acquiring three United States patents, twenty-three copyrights as well as numerous trade names, trademarks, and proprietary technologies. He continues to serve in the community advocating for safe and affordable housing, equitable jobs, and food distribution for the poor and the homeless.

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2020 John K. Hulett. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse  10/19/2020

ISBN: 978-1-6655-0195-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6655-0194-1 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6655-0196-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020918767

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New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society

English Standard Version (ESV)

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)

Public Domain

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

"I’m not complaining about having too little.

I have learned to be satisfied with whatever I have.

I know what it is to be poor or to have plenty,

and I have lived under all kinds of conditions.

I know what it means to be full or to be hungry,

to have too much or too little.

Christ gives me the strength to face anything."

Philippians 4:11-13, CEV

DEDICATION

For Katherine and Nadia, my daughters,

and for my son-in-law William

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DEDICATION

FOREWORD

INTRODUCTION

Chapter 1: EXACTING DISCIPLESHIP

Chapter 2: DISCIPLESHIP TESTED

Chapter 3: PARABLE OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD

Chapter 4: TEACHINGS OF JESUS: PARABLES

Chapter 5: GIVING UP ALL TO FOLLOW JESUS

Chapter 6: THE DIETY OF JESUS

Chapter 7: THE USE OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS

Chapter 8: FALSE PROPHETS

Chapter 9: THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS

Chapter 10: THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT; THE BEATITUDES

Chapter 11: PRAYER TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS

Chapter 12: PRAYER FOR SALVATION AND HEALING

Chapter 13: JESUS IS THE VINE, FOLLOWERS ARE THE BRANCHES

Chapter 14: JESUS PRAYING ALONE

Chapter 15: THE HOLY EUCHARIST

Chapter 16: THE HOLY SPIRIT

Chapter 17: SIGNS OF CHRIST’S RETURN

CONCLUSION

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

REFERENCES

FOREWORD

In Matthew’s gospel, after instructions for the apostles, Jesus concludes with a saying about the wise scribe: He brings out new and old from the storehouse (Matthew 13:52, CEV).

The Call to Discipleship is an excellent example of that saying. This book might be compared to the junk drawer in your house. This drawer is filled with various tools and utensils. When a task is at hand, you head for the junk drawer to find the appropriate tool or utensil to get the job done.

If you pay attention to where you are in life and where you want to go on any given day, then it makes sense to look for the right scripture tool to help you get there. After all, the scriptures are grounded in real-life experiences inspired by the Holy Spirit. Use The Call to Discipleship to help you stay connected to the centuries of lived discipleship which come to us in the scriptures.

Regular use of The Call to Discipleship will create a memory-bank of scriptural phrases which can serve as guideposts on the daily journey of discipleship.

Give the text some time and find the treasure.

Fr. Patrick M. McCorkell, S. J.,

Director, Jesuit Retreat House

Saint Paul, MN

INTRODUCTION

The Call to Discipleship and What It Means to Follow Jesus is based on sound biblical truths. Every Scripture verse is inspired by God and given to the Holy Spirit for teaching disciples of Jesus Christ how to live holy and godly lives. For some, the Truth was made known early on in childhood by the Holy Spirit giving wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:15, NASB).

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. – 2 Timothy 3:16-17, NASB

No personal interpretations were utilized in this book. You’ll only find the inspired Word of God and the Truth given by the Holy Spirit for teaching disciples of Christ how to live the gospel daily. As men and women of God, we are called to bring salvation and healing to the lost, the poor, the sick, and the dying.

But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. – 2 Peter 1:20-21, NASB

The Truth comes from believing in the trinity: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. The Trinity is made up of three persons in one God. Everything we need to know, including discernment, comes from the Holy Spirit who lives within us. The Holy Spirit is filled with the truth, knowledge, and wisdom.

I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. – John 14:16-17, NASB But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. – John 14:26, NASB

Today’s culture does not know or even care who Jesus truly is. He is the Light, the Truth, and the only way to the Kingdom of Heaven. Apart from Him, we can do nothing. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are alive in those of us who believe, trust, and keep His commandments as well as His Father’s commandments. The stories within each Scripture verse reveal the biblical truths of how God chose certain people to serve Him and mankind.

But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. – 1 Corinthians 2:14, NASB

Salvation and healing go together. Once an individual accepts Jesus as his or her Lord, God, and Savior, transformation takes place immediately and then the Holy Spirit comes and dwells within the heart of each, teaching them how to live as believers and disciples of Christ.

For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. – Philippians 2:9-11, NASB

The Call to Discipleship is a personal invitation to follow Jesus, meaning to let go of everything without hesitation and surrendering completely without any expectations. Denying yourself and picking up your cross daily to follow Christ is both costly and risky. "And He said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men’ (Matthew 4:19, NASB). Do you have the courage to say, Yes, Lord, I will follow you unconditionally"?

CHAPTER 1

EXACTING DISCIPLESHIP

As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, I will follow You wherever You go. And Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." And He said to another, Follow Me. But he said, Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father. But He said to him, Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God. Another also said, I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home. But Jesus said to him, No one, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. – Luke 9:57-62, NASB

If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. – Luke 9:23, NASB

The Rich Young Ruler

As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said to him, Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments, ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ And he said to Him, Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up. Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, "One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property. – Mark 10:17-22, NASB

"Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’ – Matthew 7:21-23, NASB

The Two Foundations

Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall. – Matthew 7:24-27, NASB

For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus. – Romans 2:12-16, NASB

Changed Relationships

While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. Someone said to Him, Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You. But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, Who is My mother and who are My brothers? And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, Behold My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother." – Matthew 12:46-50, NASB

Children of God Love One Another

See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.

For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another; not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.

Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren But. whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.

This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. – 1 John 3:1-23, NASB

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. ‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. ‘Because you say, I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing, and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. ‘Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. ‘He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’" – Revelation 3:15-22, NASB

Fasting; The True Treasure; Wealth (Mammon)

Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. "But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. "But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. – Matthew 6:16-24, NASB

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. – John 12:24-25, NASB

Call of Levi (Matthew)

After that He went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, Follow Me. And he left everything behind, and got up and began to follow Him.

And Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there was a great crowd of tax collectors and other people who were reclining at the table with them. The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling at His disciples, saying, Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners? And Jesus answered and said to them, It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance – Luke 5:27-32, NASB

Zaccheus Converted

He entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way.

way. When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house. And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly. When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner. Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much. And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. – Luke 19:1-9, NASB

The Twelve Disciples; Instructions for Service

Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.

Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.

These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: "Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The