So You Wanna Be A Disciple - Pastor John Antonucci

Devotional

Day 1: Fishing in the Marketplace

Jesus calls disciples to cast nets beyond church walls. Ministry happens where people live, work, and play—grocery aisles, hospital corridors, golf courses. The same power that filled sinking boats with fish equips believers to heal elbows and speak life in ordinary moments. Disciples don’t wait for perfect settings; they recognize divine appointments in the grit of daily routines. True revival starts when we stop compartmentalizing “ministry” and start seeing every interaction as holy ground. [01:11:02]

“And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed him.”
(Matthew 4:19-20, ESV)

Reflection: Where has God placed you this week to “mend nets” with others? What ordinary moment today could become holy ground if you ask Jesus to make you aware of it?

Day 2: From Consumer to Contributor

Attenders measure services by personal preferences—song selections, sermon styles, greeting team enthusiasm. Disciples enter gatherings asking “Who needs encouragement?” rather than “What’s in it for me?” Serving others becomes worship when we imitate Christ’s posture: hands extended, knees bent, eyes scanning rooms for wounded hearts. True satisfaction comes not from consuming blessings but channeling them outward. [01:07:18]

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
(Mark 10:45, ESV)

Reflection: What practical step could you take this Sunday to shift from evaluating the service to engaging the saints? Who needs your intentional encouragement most in your spiritual community?

Day 3: Multiplying the Meal

The Samaritan woman didn’t wait for seminary training—she ran to share her messy encounter with living water. Disciples reproduce spiritual meals by sharing half-baked revelations, not just fully formed doctrines. Every testimony about Christ’s intervention—a healed elbow, a restored marriage—becomes breadcrumbs leading others to the feast. [01:15:33]

“So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, ‘Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?’ They went out of the town and were coming to him.”
(John 4:28-30, ESV)

Reflection: What recent “crumb” of God’s faithfulness could you share with someone this week? Who needs to hear your unfinished story of grace more than your polished conclusions?

Day 4: The Cost of Unclenched Hands

Discipleship demands releasing family expectations, cultural comfort, and control over outcomes. Like Peter leaving storm-battered boats, followers exchange predictable livelihoods for unpredictable adventures. The cost feels steep until we discover Christ’s presence outweighs every sacrifice—even when mothers weep at airport curbs. [01:36:09]

“So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”
(Luke 14:33, ESV)

Reflection: What clenched fist—a relationship, dream, or security blanket—is Christ asking you to open today? How might releasing it create space for greater kingdom impact?

Day 5: Salt That Stings Wounds

Seasoned disciples flavor communities not through polished performances but through the burning grace of presence. Like salt in fresh cuts, true followers ache with those who ache, staying present when others retreat. This sting of solidarity—not sermon perfection—preserves souls and prevents spiritual decay. [01:46:10]

“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”
(Colossians 4:6, ESV)

Reflection: When did someone’s “salty” presence—not solutions—comfort you in pain? Who needs your unpolished companionship more than your polished advice this week?

Sermon Summary

God’s Word is living, breathing, sharp, and full of life. The Word cuts through all the fluff, separates soul from spirit, and brings life into dead places, dead marriages, dead bodies, and dead situations. Christ dwells in believers, and “Christ in you” is the hope of glory. The church is not a building where God lives in a box. The church is the people of God, called out of darkness and carrying His presence wherever they go.

The call of discipleship moves people beyond being attenders. An attender can come looking for a favorite song, a personal blessing, encouragement, or a church experience that meets a need. A disciple comes asking, “How can I serve? Who can I encourage? What can I give?” The kingdom cannot become a consumer place where people only eat and never give away what God has placed in them. Ministry is not limited to a platform, a microphone, or a Sunday assignment. Ministry begins when believers leave the gathering and step into hospitals, banks, workplaces, neighborhoods, golf courses, homes, and everyday conversations.

Jesus calls disciples to become fishers of men. Peter, Andrew, James, and John did not simply agree with Jesus; they left nets, boats, business, and familiar security to follow Him. The gospel must be spoken, because the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. One person touched by Christ can turn a city upside down, just as the woman at the well carried her encounter back into Samaria.

Luke 14 brings the hard words of Jesus before great multitudes. Jesus does not build His kingdom by avoiding offense or keeping a crowd comfortable. Jesus tells people to count the cost. Family, possessions, reputation, comfort, personal plans, and even self must never come before Him. This preference for Christ does not mean rejecting people; it means refusing to let even loved ones pull a disciple out of God’s will. Hurt, misunderstanding, betrayal, and opposition may come from the people closest to a disciple, but Christ calls His followers to keep loving, blessing, praying, and obeying.

Discipleship is not a one-time decision or a temporary conversion that changes form and then goes back to the old life. A disciple learns, adheres to, believes, and helps spread the words of Jesus. The cross must be taken up every day. The true test is not merely loving Jesus when life is easy, but loving Judas when betrayal comes. Christ calls believers to go deeper, lay everything down, and choose Him above all else.

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Key Takeaways

1. Disciples give, not merely consume The consumer mentality asks what the church can provide, while discipleship asks what God can release through a life. Encouragement often comes back to the person who begins encouraging another. Spiritual maturity starts showing up when receiving becomes reproducing. [67:18]
2. Ministry begins outside the building The kingdom goes into ordinary places where hurting people already live and work. A disciple does not put on a ministry coat for one gathering and take it off afterward. Christ sends His people into daily life carrying prayer, compassion, truth, and expectation. [70:15]
3. Jesus must be preferred above all Christ does not command hatred toward family in the ordinary sense, but demands first place over every competing loyalty. Loved ones can misunderstand a calling, resist a decision, or speak from pain. Obedience requires humility, patience, and a steady refusal to abandon what God has said. [89:57]
4. Count the cost before following Discipleship costs everything because Jesus does not ask for a corner of life. The cross includes rejection, betrayal, hardship, and the pressure to quit when following becomes painful. Eternal life and the will of God remain worth more than every comfort surrendered. [98:57]
5. Loving Judas reveals true discipleship Love for Jesus is tested when people betray, wound, reject, or speak against a disciple. Christ calls His followers to resist agreement with bitterness and keep blessing those who hurt them. The cross teaches a heart to stay faithful without becoming hard.

## [105:47]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:58] - The Living Word Brings Life
[60:28] - Why Believers Gather
[62:06] - From Attender to Disciple
[65:04] - Ministry Beyond Church Walls
[66:54] - Consumer Mentality or Servant Heart
[70:15] - Everyday Places of Ministry
[72:33] - What Disciples Give
[77:10] - The Church Goes Wherever You Go
[81:17] - Christ Came to Serve
[85:06] - Follow Me and Fish for Men
[88:35] - Jesus Calls People to Count the Cost
[90:40] - Preferring Christ Above Family
[98:57] - Finishing the Race of Discipleship
[105:47] - The Call to Go Deeper

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Luke 14:25-33
“Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 'If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” [01:28:35]

Matthew 4:18-22
“While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, 'Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.' Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.” [58:03]

Hebrews 4:12
“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” [59:18]

Observation questions

In Hebrews 4:12, what does God’s Word reveal about the thoughts and intentions of the heart? [59:18]
In Matthew 4:18-22, what did Peter, Andrew, James, and John leave behind when Jesus called them to follow Him?
In Luke 14:25-33, what examples does Jesus use to show why a person must count the cost before becoming His disciple? [01:39:02]
What contrasts are given between an attender’s mindset and a disciple’s mindset, especially in how each person approaches serving and encouraging others? [01:07:01]

Interpretation questions

Jesus calls fishermen to leave familiar work, family connections, and security in order to follow Him. What does their immediate response show about the kind of trust Jesus calls for?
Jesus’ command to “hate” family and even one’s own life is explained as preferring Him above every competing loyalty. How can a believer put Christ first without becoming harsh, dismissive, or unloving toward family members? [01:30:13]
Why does Jesus speak strong, costly words to large crowds in Luke 14 rather than simply trying to keep the crowd comfortable? [01:29:48]
The message distinguishes a temporary conversion from a lifelong discipleship process. What marks might show that a person is continuing to follow Jesus rather than returning to an old pattern of life? [01:44:22]

Application questions

When you gather with the church, which question most often shapes your attitude: “What can I get?” or “What can I give?” What is one practical way you could encourage or serve someone this week? [01:13:02]
Where do you regularly spend time—at work, school, home, a store, a neighborhood, or another everyday place? What could it look like to carry Christ’s presence there through prayer, compassion, or a gospel conversation? [01:10:47]
Is there a person in your life who has heard you talk about everyday things but has never heard what Christ has done in you? What would be a natural first step toward having that conversation? [01:16:24]
What comfort, habit, relationship pressure, fear of rejection, or personal plan could compete with putting Jesus first in your life right now? How can you bring that honestly before Him? [01:45:47]
When someone wounds, misunderstands, betrays, or speaks against you, what is your usual response? What would it look like to keep loving, blessing, and praying without agreeing with bitterness? [01:38:11]
What is one daily choice that would help you take up your cross and follow Jesus this week, especially on a difficult day? [01:40:37]

Sermon Clips

32s

“But I'm telling you, I'd rather be in the center of the will of God in Baghdad, Iraq if that's where God wanted me, than to be on the beaches or the shores of of Oahu, Hawaii if that's not where God wants me. What am I saying? You've gotta be in the will of God for your life, and you have to walk as a disciple knowing that the cost of whatever he asks you to do, it's not about my life. It's about his will and the life of his son that lives in me.”

36s

“And it's okay that you feel pain. God's gonna allow you to walk through that because you're gonna have to be hurt. You're gonna have to be disappointed by people. You're gonna have to be betrayed by people. If you're gonna be a disciple of Christ, there are people that are gonna misunderstand you and talk about you and throw you under the bus. But you know what you do? You just keep loving them. You keep praying for them. You keep blessing them. You keep wrapping your arms around them. No matter what they say, you don't get an agreement with it. You just keep saying what god said.”

34s

“So you're called to the ministry. Well, pastor, I'm not called like you know. You may not be called to have an office of a fivefold ministry gift, but you are definitely called in the same level, in the same vein as I am to be a minister of the gospel to people out in that world that are hurting. So we must stop seeing the church as something that exists to serve us and start seeing ourselves as part of the body that God wants to work through.”

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