Episode Transcript
[00:00:07] Speaker A: Welcome to the weekday podcast of Sugar Hill Church, where we desire to help you know God and discover your purpose, whether you're exercising, driving, meditating, or just hanging out while you tune in with us today. Thanks. We hope these next five minutes help you feel encouraged and inspired for your day.
[00:00:22] Speaker B: Hi, everybody. This is Pastor Chuck Allen, and I want to thank you for joining me on another weekday podcast. I want to talk today about what it is to be a disciple. Now, if you just look at the noun disciple, one of Jesus, personal followers. Now, the key word there is personal, right? I mean, there are a lot of people who say they follow Jesus, but honestly, they don't walk with him. They're not really an apprentice. But what does it mean to literally be a disciple of Jesus? What does it mean to follow Him? Well, over the next few days, that's what I want to talk about. Maybe you just have recently become a Christian over the holidays and you want to know what happens next. Maybe you've been a Christian for more years than you care to remember, but you simply want to refresh. But whatever the reason is, I want to take the next few days and explore what it looks like to follow Jesus and how Jesus enables us to keep going. We can see where Jesus gives us a new life with a new hope and a new family. And indeed, being a Christian, being a follower of Jesus doesn't start with what we do, but with what Jesus has done for us. I think it's important for us to remember that the thing that makes Christianity so special is it's not what we do is what Christ has done. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever would believe in him would not die, but live forever. But the live forever isn't just picturing heaven. It's the fact that we get to live that joy now. Now we could. We could say, well, well, I'm growing in my faith, Chuck. I don't really need this help. But the fact is we all need help from somewhere. Following Jesus, for many of us, is not always easy. It can cut against the grain of our selfish desires and against this world. And at times, we can find ourselves completely out of step with the world around us. But it is the good life, and it's the best life that God in stores for us. It's a life that's full, it's rich. It's a life full of purpose and a life with God not opposed to God, and a life that leads to eternal life, but begins now. But I want to give you this thought, the Christian life is one of continued growth that far exceeds a choice to follow Jesus. But you have to start there. You see, Hebrews chapter 6, verses 1 through 3 says this. So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don't need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. You don't need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of the hands, the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding. Now, I want to throw this out there, and I don't mean to throw anybody under the bus here, but for many of us, we don't see walking with Jesus as a lifelong eternal element. We see it almost like a fire insurance policy for heaven. And then I can live any way I want to because let's face it, Chuck, you talk a lot about grace, but the fact is most of us start as baby Christians and many of us never, ever move from that. We're like Ricky Bobby that's still praying to baby Jesus.
God never intended for us to stay a baby. All healthy things grow. And throughout our walks of faith, God sanctifies us, meaning he grows us up to be more like him through His Holy Spirit so that we conform to the desire Jesus has for our lives. Now listen, while God works in our lives in sanctification, we also work along him and making every effort to grow to become more like Jesus. You see, God literally invites you into that work with Him. And the Bible tells us that sanctification is God's will for our lives. In 1st Thessalonians 4, 3, it is God's will that you should be sanctified. And sanctification, while it's a preacher term, is literally just becoming more like Christ Jesus by purifying our hearts and minds through repentance, prayer and spiritual disciplines. And you can't do that apart from God's spirit. Which is why we gotta start with Jesus. That's his gift to us. But he calls each of us to participate willingly and aggressively. So today, my friend, ask yourself this. What am I doing willingly and aggressively to be sanctified and to trust God with all that I am and trust God for His best for my life. Throughout the Bible, sanctification is mentioned frequently as a calling to align ourselves with God's will and cleanse ourselves from the natural sin that we've all been born into. My friend, today, make that choice and go on this journey over the next few days with me about trying to build some spiritual disciplines into our life. Matter of fact, let's start with one. Right now. Right now. Say out loud, what two things are you grateful to the Lord for? Just say it right now. Like right now, I'm grateful that God has given me the ability to get a little healthier. As you can tell from my voice, it's a little weak and I've been battling the flu. Number two, I'm grateful that I had some time over the holidays to spend with my family to hunt and to enjoy the dogs. What are you grateful for? Secondly, tell the Lord exactly what's on your heart. God, today. Would you give me wisdom and then go from there? My friend, have you read anything in Scripture today? If not, go back and read that passage I read to you in Hebrews, Chapter six, verses one through three. And already you've built three new spiritual disciplines. Now the key is consistency. God bless you friend. Thanks so much for listening on today's weekday podcast.
[00:06:11] Speaker A: Thanks so much for joining us today for the weekday podcast. Our prayer is that the encouragement you just heard would help you live more like Jesus lives today. We would love to see you at Sugar Hill Church for one of our gatherings each Sunday at 9, 15 and 11, and we're always streaming live at live Sugar Hill Church. Thanks again for joining us today. As always, if today's message encouraged you, share it with friends and family by tapping the share button. Have an awesome day.
