My Next Step
The Best is Yet to Come Week #5
My Next Step
All of us have a next step to take in our walk with Jesus. However, each of our steps look different!
A growing relationship with Jesus is intentional not accidental
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ Mark 12:30
Desire plus discipline makes the difference
It takes effort on our part to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus.
A lot of people want to expect great things from God, but they don’t want to put the forth any effort in making those great things happen.
Don't fall into the trap of praying instead of obeying!
2 COMMON REASONS PEOPLE SAY THEY CAN’T TAKE THEIR NEXT STEP:
1. I’m great right where I am!
If you and Jesus were standing next to each other, would anyone mistake you for twins?
10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, 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, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:10-14
2. God will never ask me to do anything difficult.
Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. Luke 9:23
Everyone wants to be blessed, but will you take a difficult next step to get that blessing?
9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. 10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” Genesis 17:9-14
If you want to follow Jesus, sometimes He is going to ask you to take a very difficult next step!
Why would God trust us with what is next when we won’t do what he’s telling us to do now?
“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Luke 22:42
It’s not easy to take the next step sometimes, but it’s always right.
Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will let your people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.” 9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “I leave to you the honor of setting the time for me to pray for you and your officials and your people that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile.” 10 “Tomorrow,” Pharaoh said. Moses replied, “It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the Lord our God. Exodus 8:8-10
Why would you spend one more night with the frogs?
What is my next step _________________