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Where Do We Go From Here?
Congratulations! Whether you just rededicated your life to Christ or whether you are a first time believer, the heart transaction you have just made has firmly seated Jesus on the throne of your life and has brought you into a proper relationship with God!
In many ways, today is a new beginning in your life. God tells us that when we receive Jesus and allow him to be our Savior and Lord, we become a new creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17) From this point forward, God will be directing your life. He will point the direction and your job will be to follow Him as he leads you.
Truthfully, it won’t be easy. The journey ahead can be long and many times you will be tempted to go back on your commitment to Christ. Many times you will be tempted to give up. But the important thing is to remember that this is a journey and today is just the beginning. Paul writes:
“Not that I have obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12-14 NIV)
How do you “press on toward the goal?” How do you make sure that the decision you made today will last the rest of your life? What are some “tools” that will help you succeed in your Christian life?
Let me give you three critical factors that you need in order to make your journey with Christ a success.
1. Get Into A Link
The single biggest reason that people don’t succeed in their Christian journey is that they do not get the support and encouragement that they need. They start off strong, but because they have no close friends who they are sharing their journey with, pretty soon they find themselves floundering.
Don’t let that be true with you! God tells us: “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25)
Your Link is God’s gift to you for your encouragement. There you will find a small group of friends who are on the same journey you are on. They will be there to help you grow, to pray for you and to encourage you. When you fall, they will pick you up. When you find sin creeping back in, they will be there to encourage you to be faithful to your Lord. Satan finds it hard to creep back in when you are regularly involved with other believers in your ministry Link.
Whatever you have to do - make sure that you make your involvement in a Link is a priority. Satan will often use other activities and busyness to isolate you, then discourage you, and eventually get you completely off track. So it is important that early on in your journey you establish your involvement in your ministry Link as a priority and you clear your calendar of other things to make sure you can be there.
If you need help finding a Link, talk to the person who has shared Christ with you or else contact the church office and we’ll do our best to help you out!
2. Spend Regular Time With God
Besides your Link, another key you will find will be critical to your “pressing on” with Christ will be your own personal time with God.
Perhaps nothing is so important to your growth as a Christian and to your faithfulness as a disciple as spending personal time with God on a regular basis! The writer of Psalms 42 speaks about this when he writes: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” (Psalms 42:1-2 NIV)
Oh, it is so important to make sure that you take the time to go and meet with God!
Can you imagine a relationship between two best friends if the two friends never wanted to spend time together? What would happen? Before too long they wouldn’t be best friends anymore. Other relationships and activities would have become more important.
The same is true in our relationship with Jesus. He is our best friend and we need to take time to be with him if we want our relationship with him to grow. We need to set aside some time to be with him, to worship him, to talk with him and to listen to him. During these times with God, he will share with you some wonderful insights for your life from the Bible and he will speak to you through the Holy Spirit.
If you have never read the Bible before, perhaps a good place to start is the gospel of John. Find a version you can understand and dig in! (Your Link leader can help you if you don’t have a Bible you can easily understand.) You’ll be amazed how you’ll grow as you spend time listening to God and reading his Word.
You in turn can also share with God. Pour your heart out to him. Pray for the other people in your Link. Pray for your friends who aren’t yet believers. Pray for your family. And yes, pray for yourself. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 5:7, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” You never have to doubt that Jesus is right there with you!
We recommend setting aside some time each day of the week to meet with God. Some people find the evening best while others prefer to get up a half hour earlier than before and, while the house is quiet, spend some time with the Lord. Do whatever works best for you. The important thing though is just to do it! Your relationship with God depends on regular continual contact - time when you can seek his face and enjoy his presence.
3. Grow As A Disciple Through Our Empowerment Track
One person said, “Any disciple that isn’t growing is dying.”
I believe that is true. If you aren’t growing closer to Jesus - you are getting further away from him.
So how do you grow? We have already given you two keys, but there is another: You need to grow through our Empowerment Track.
When a soldier joins the army, they have him go through basic training. At basic training he gets all the basic tools he needs to succeed as a soldier. He learns how to relate to other soldiers. He gets in shape. He learns to shoot his rifle. And he learns how to survive in the harsh realities of war.
You need the same as a Christian. For you to succeed, you need to have some “basic training” that will give you all the basic tools to succeed in your Christian life. Our Empowerment Track is what does that. Through a series of encounters, classes, Bible studies, and training sessions you will be given all the basics that you will need to grow and succeed as a disciple of Jesus. During your training you will discover the essentials of the Christian life, you will become better acquainted with Jesus, you will learn how to continually discover God’s will for your life, and you will learn how to share your faith with others in a natural non-confrontational way. Eventually you will learn how you can help others grow and know Christ through starting your own ministry Link!
In the diagram on the previous page you’ll see a picture of our Discipleship Development Process and our Empowerment Track. When you accepted Christ, you “hit the ball” so to speak. It is now time to run the bases and become a home-run believer!
Your next step will be to participate in Discipleship 101. In this class you’ll learn more about walking with God and all the wonderful things He has in store for you. You’ll also become better acquainted with your church family and begin to meet other people in the church.
You’ll also want to participate in an “Encounter Retreat.” These retreats are designed to help you experience a life-changing encounter with God that will launch you into growth as a believer. Through messages from God’s word, spending time in God’s presence, and being ministered to by others, you will be set free from spiritual strongholds and receive empowerment from the Holy Spirit.
So welcome! Welcome to your new life with Christ! And go ahead and jump in! God is there for you. As you seek His face and listen to His Spirit, He will guide you each step of the way. So make sure to plug into a ministry Link. Establish that regular daily time to spend with the Lord. And start getting equipped for the journey ahead through the Empowerment Track.
You’ll be forever glad you did!
May God be with you. Welcome to God’s family. We are excited to have you join us on our journey!
