3angels, please do not get me wrong ...I can not interpret dreams but ...I've spiritually discerned that this dream of yours is an admonition towards your FAITH to Jesus. 3angels...not giving you a bible lesson here... but to share with you what I've spiritually understood in my own personal spiritual walk as a student / follower in Christ... now to try and give you a full understanding, the Greek term for “disciple” in the New Testament is
mathetes, which means more than just “student” or “learner.” A disciple is a “follower,” someone who adheres completely to the teachings of another, making them his rule of life and conduct. The Pharisees prided themselves in being disciples of Moses (
John 9:28). Jesus’ followers were called “disciples” long before they were ever called “Christians.” Their discipleship began with Jesus’ call and required them to exercise their will to follow Him (
Matthew 9:9).
Jesus was quite explicit about the cost of following Him. Discipleship requires a totally committed life: “Any of you who does not give up everything he has.... cannot be my disciple” (
Luke 14:33). Sacrifice is expected: “Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me’” (
Matthew 16:24).
Not all of Jesus’ followers were able to make such a commitment. There were many who left Jesus after a while. “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him” (
John 6:66).
Biblically speaking, a Christian is a disciple of Christ. A Christian is someone who has placed his/her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (
John 1:12). A Christian has been born again by the power of the Holy Spirit (
John 3:3). A Christian “belongs to Christ” and is daily being transformed into the likeness of Christ (
2 Corinthians 3:18).
A true Christian / Follower of Christ (and not one
in name only) will have to be a disciple of Christ as well. That is, he/ she has
counted the cost and has totally committed his/ her life to following Jesus. He/She accepts the call to sacrifice and follows wherever the Lord leads. The Christian disciple completely adheres to the teaching of Jesus, makes Christ his number-one priority, and lives accordingly. He is actively involved in making other Christian disciples (
Matthew 28:19–20).
A true Christian disciple is a believer in Christ and possesses new life through the indwelling Holy Spirit. Because he loves Christ, a Christian will also be an obedient disciple (
John 14:15). Paul describes the reality of being a Christian disciple: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (
Galatians 2:20).
The Bible talks a lot about suffering for the sake of Christ. In the era in which the New Testament was written, followers of Jesus were often ostracized by their own families and communities. Some of the worst persecution came from the religious leaders (
Acts 4:1–3). Jesus told His followers, "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (
Matthew 5:10). He reminded His disciples, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first" (
John 15:18).
Second Timothy 3:12 says, "Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." As in biblical times, many Christians today have found that making a public declaration of faith in Christ can result in imprisonment, beatings, torture, or death (
Hebrews 11:32–38;
2 Corinthians 12:10;
Philippians 3:8;
Acts 5:40). Often those of us in free nations shudder at the thought, but we feel relatively safe. We understand that there are thousands who suffer daily for the sake of Christ and are thankful we don't have to. But is there only one kind of persecution?
Jesus stated clearly what it means to follow Him: “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?" (
Luke 9:23–25). Our modern understanding of the phrase "take up their cross and follow me" is often inadequate. In Jesus' day the cross always symbolized death. When a man carried a cross, he had already been condemned to die on it. Jesus said that, in order to follow Him, one must be willing to die. We will not all die martyrs’ deaths. We will not all be imprisoned, beaten, or tortured for our faith. So what kind of death did Jesus mean?
Paul explains in
Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." To follow Christ means we die to our own way of doing things. We consider our will, our rights, our passions, and our goals to be crucified on the cross with Him. Our right to direct our own lives is dead to us (
Philippians 3:7–8). Death involves suffering. The flesh does not want to die. Dying to self is painful and goes against our natural inclination to seek our own pleasure. But we cannot follow both Christ and the flesh (
Luke 16:13;
Matthew 6:24;
Romans 8:8). Jesus said, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God" (
Luke 9:62).
Paul suffered more than most for Jesus' sake. He said this to the Christians at Phillipi: "For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him" (
Philippians 1:2). The word
granted here means "shown favor, given freely as a gift." Paul does not present suffering as a curse, but as a benefit.
Suffering can take many forms. By choosing to obey the Lord Jesus Christ, we are setting ourselves at odds with our own flesh that desires to GRATIFY itself (self indulgence) and with odds with the world.
Galatians 1:10 says, "For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ" (NASB). By closely adhering to the teachings of the Bible, we set ourselves up for rejection, mockery, loneliness, or betrayal. Often, the cruelest persecution comes from those who consider themselves spiritual but have defined God according to their own ideas. If we choose to take a stand for righteousness and biblical truth, we ensure that we will be misunderstood, mocked, or worse. We need to keep in mind that no threat of suffering deterred the apostles from preaching Christ. In fact, Paul said that losing everything was worth it "that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death" (
Philippians 3:10, NASB).
Acts 5:40–41 describes the reaction of the apostles after they received another beating for preaching about Jesus: "The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name."
Suffering in some form is always going to be a part of being a true follower of Christ. Jesus said the path that leads to life is difficult (
Matthew 7:14). Our hardship is also a way of identifying with His suffering in a small way.
Jesus said if we deny him before men, He will deny us before His Father in heaven (
Matthew 10:33;
Luke 12:9). There are many subtle ways to deny Christ. If our actions, words, lifestyle, or entertainment choices do not reflect His will, we are denying Christ. If we claim to know Him but live as though we didn't, we are denying Christ (
1 John 3:6–10). Many people choose those forms of denying Christ because they do not want to suffer for Him.
Often our greatest suffering comes from within as we battle for control over a heart that must die to its own will and surrender to Christ’s lordship (
Romans 7:15–25). In whatever form suffering comes, we should embrace it as a badge of honor and a privilege that we, like the apostles, have "been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name."
I am in hope that I have been to some assistance to better understanding your spiritual of FAITH Admonition Dream. With Much Blessings Erika B.