Sermon Info
Summary
To follow, you have to move forward. It doesn’t matter if you have been following Christ for 40 minutes or 40 years, we all have a next step to take in our journey. He is ready to use this journey to change us. He wants to make us whole. He wants to make us holy. He wants to make us look like Jesus. He most often uses His Word and the His people to do this change in us. Are you ready to take your next step forward?
Content
One Step at a Time
Trying something new can be extremely scary. None of us like to try and fail, feel uncomfortable, or make a wrong step. We may desire to take steps of faith for the sake of Christ, yet our fears and worries keep us from moving forward towards God’s good and perfect plan. However, as a disciple of Christ, our journey is one of freedom and faith. God wants to do something in our lives. He’s constantly on a journey of pursuing us, longing for us to come to Him, abide with Him, and trust His plan.
But, discipleship, our journey towards becoming more like Jesus, will require us to take a next step. It will require us, at times, to step into something new, something maybe a bit scary, in order for us to step into the next thing God has for us.
What’s your next step?
What the Bible Says about Discipleship
In Romans 8, we read these words from Paul: For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters (Romans 8:29). There are several things we can take away from these verses. First is that God has known us from the very beginning, before the world was even made. He knew everything about us, and He loved us even then. What a special thing that is.
Secondly, we can know that when God sees us, He sees Jesus. He sees the “image of His Son.” This isn’t meant to be something that causes us pressure to perform; however, it does mean that He sees in you the ways in which you can grow to become more like His Son. That’s what the process of discipleship does in us.
Lastly, we can know that true discipleship and true conformity to the likeness of Jesus comes through being in God’s Word and being in community. Though these verses may not explicitly state this, they do point us to what’s most important, which is becoming more like Jesus. That can only be done in the context of being in community, being discipled, and being in God’s Word. God provides us with spiritual disciplines and practices to equip us with the ability to grow in the person He desires for us to become.
What is your Next Step?
There is nothing we can do to change that way that God sees us. There’s nothing that will ever or can ever separate us from His love or change the love that He has for us. However, that does not negate the duty that we have as Christ-followers, which is for us to continually become more and more like Jesus. When God sees us, He sees the image of His Son. We’ll never be perfect like Jesus. We’ll always be sinners in desperate need of a Savior.
Yet, that Savior is who we need to strive to become like – on a consistent, disciplined, and regular basis. Without being in community, being in God’s Word, and being discipled, we will not be able to steadily grow in our faith and in our conformity to the likeness of Christ.
So, what’s your next step – and are you willing to take it? Whether that’s taking a step like getting in a Community Group, finding a mentor, or jumping into a daily Bible reading plan, God is calling you to take a step. The time is now.
