Continuing the Adventure of Faith

 

You’ve come alive to God, and said “Yes!” to His work in your life. You’ve experienced his forgiving power and been made right with Him. You’ve placed your confidence in Him, transferring the weight of your life off of yourself and onto Him.

 

And so begins the adventure of the Christian faith. But that isn’t where it ends!

 

At one point in his teaching, Jesus says, “I am the gate” (John 10.7). When we come to Christ, we step into something altogether new. But what lies on the other side of that gate?

 

Sometimes we get the idea that becoming a follower of Christ is like walking through a door into a room. Having entered into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, we come in and sit down, the important work behind us.

 

The image makes sense. When we come to Christ, everything changes, as starkly as if we were stepping from a raw, chilly night into a warm and cozy home. Everything is new, everything is different, joyfully so.

 

But the image of going from one room to another, apt as it is, misses an important part of the story. When we come to Christ, we don’t come in, sit down, and simply bide our time until the end of this life, as though we were sitting at a gate at the airport waiting for our flight. The Christian life isn’t a static thing.

 

A much more accurate picture of becoming a Christian is walking through a gate onto a path. The Christian life is a journey, one that takes us deeper and deeper into the life God has for us. “Come further up, come further in!” shouts one of the characters in the C. S. Lewis allegory of the Christian faith called The Last Battle.

 

Peter, one of that original band of followers who had been with Jesus from the start, wanted to encourage others who were new to the Christian faith. At the very end of a letter to these new Christians, he writes this final word of encouragement:

 

“Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 3.18 (NIV)

 

 

Earlier in that same letter, Peter gives an example of what that progress in the faith can look like:

 

“Your faith will produce a life of moral excellence. A life of moral excellence leads to knowing God better. Knowing God leads to self-control.

Self-control leads to patient endurance, and patient endurance leads to godliness. Godliness leads you to love other Christians, and finally you will grow to have genuine love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more you will become productive and useful in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1.3-8 (NLT)

 

 

In fact, growth isn’t just part of the Christian life. It is the goal of the Christian life. In another one of the letters collected in the New Testament, Paul describes what he sees as God’s intended outcome in the life of every one of His followers - and, therefore, the goal of his own ministry:

 

“We announce the message about Christ, and we use all our wisdom to warn and teach everyone, so that all of Christ’s followers will grow and become mature.” Colossians 1.28 (CEV)

 

We have sought to capture this truth in our vision statement as a church: Growing Followers of Christ. There’s always a place higher and further where God wants to take us.

 

Across the ages, those who have studied the Scriptures have identified five aspects of spiritual growth — five destinations along the path of discipleship — that God intends to characterize the journey of every one of His followers. At Covenant we call these the Five Discipleship Destinations.

 

Discipleship is just another word for being a student or follower. It’s an ancient word that means placing yourself at the feet of a master and learning from him. Like mile markers along the path, these Five Discipleship Destinations — abiding, learning, relating, serving, reaching — are aspects of the spiritual journey along which God wishes to take us.

 

As you look at these five destinations, you may notice that they fall into two groups, each corresponding to one aspect of the work God intends to do in our lives.

 

First, we are not yet who God made us to be. There is a work God wants to do inside each of us so we can better reflect His original design for us. Once we have begun a relationship with Christ, God begins that work, refashioning us into the person He designed us to be from the start, a person who more and more reflects Him. This requires our openness.

 

“As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more.” 2 Corinthians 3.18 (NLT)

 

The first three Discipleship Destinations are important to the work God wants to do in us. They are ways we prepare the soil of the soul to make a place where God is free to sow His seeds of life-transformation. In a sense, they are things we do that put us within reach of God and clear out some space in our lives to let Him be at work in us.

 

The Discipleship Destinations that have to do with God working in us are:

Abiding:  participating faithfully in worship and becoming a person of prayer

Learning:  studying the Bible and integrating its teaching into your life

Relating:  developing close friendships of mutual support and encouragement with other 

                 followers of Christ

 

Second, we do not yet live as God intended. God calls us to an other-centered life. There are people to whom God wishes to send us, and there are expressions of His love and justice that God wants to express through us. He calls us to serve Him, and His goal is to use us. This requires our availability.

 

“We are God’s workmanship, created to do good works that God prepared in advance for us to walk in.” Ephesians 2.10 (NIV)

 

The last two Destinations are important to the work God wants to do through us. They describe the way we live out our faith. They are tangible evidence of the fruit of God’s work in our lives as we serve those God has placed around us. These acts of service and self-giving are the harvest of God’s work of growth in us.

 

The Discipleship Destinations that have to do with God working through us are:

Serving:  identifying and using your God-given gifts and resources

Reaching:  building friendships with those outside the church and sharing your faith with them

 

Let’s walk back through these discipleship destinations, and see what each one involves.

 

* * *

 

 

Cultivating a deeper relationship with God through worship and prayer

 

At the heart of the Christian faith is a relationship. Abiding means resting in and deepening the relationship you have with God through Christ. It implies lingering in God’s company and enjoying His presence.

 

At the heart of abiding are two ancient spiritual practices: worship and prayer. Worship is honoring God. It is expressing to Him our joy for who He is and our gratitude for what He has done in our lives. Weekly worship with other followers has been the practice of the church from its inception, as followers gather to celebrate God and remember who He is and what He has done. But worship is not confined to Sundays. Every day gives us occasion to express to God our thanks and praise.

 

And prayer is nothing more than an ongoing conversation with our praiseworthy God. God invites us to pray, to bring to Him our every struggle and concern and decision, and to seek His comfort and wise counsel for our lives. Daily prayer has likewise been a practice of the church since the beginning, reflecting our belief that God is alive and real and near, and wishes to be involved in every aspect of our lives.

 

Abiding grows out of the devotional reading of the Bible. The Scriptures are like love letters from God to us. When we read God’s word, He speaks to us, encouraging us when we need to be comforted, and challenging us when we need to be confronted. Daily time reading the Bible moves us to respond in worship and prayer, and draws us ever deeper into our love relationship with God.

 

“Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches.Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.”

John 15.4-5 (NRSV)

 

Studying the Bible and integrating its teaching into our lives

 

Where can we turn with confidence to get answers to our spiritual questions? The Bible. The Bible is unlike any other work of literature on the planet, for in its words God Himself has spoken. As followers of Christ, we believe that God has equipped us for a rich and vibrant Christian life by giving us the Scriptures.

 

Because it was ultimately authored by God, the Bible speaks with stunning relevance to the life issues and spiritual questions that surface in our lives today. The Bible gives us everything we need to know God, to know ourselves and our need for God, and to know about the life to which God calls us. And, because God authored it, it speaks with authority. We are called to place ourselves not over it in scrutiny but under it in obedience.

 

But the fact that its writing took place at such a great remove from our own lives — in a different language and into a different world — means that the Bible is not always readily accessible to us. Sometimes its relevance and power get lost behind its unfamiliarity. That makes studying the Bible with others crucial for our continued spiritual growth. The more we study it, the more we will get from it, and the more we get from it, the closer to God we will grow, making regular Bible study a non-negotiable part of the Christian life.

 

Of course, the goal of studying the Bible is never merely accumulating information. The goal is integration, applying the Bible to our lives, letting it shape our thinking and our living.

 

“All Scripture is inspired by God, and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.”

2 Timothy 3.16-17 (NLT)

 

Building close relationships of mutual support and encouragement with other followers

 

Sometimes we think duty is at the heart of Christianity. But it isn’t. Love is. And one of the ways we most experience love is through our friendships with other followers of Christ.

 

As busy Americans our lives are stuffed full with people, but most are mere acquaintances and few, if any, ever get very close. Research shows that most of us have only one person with whom we can share honestly, and a quarter of us have no one. Loneliness is just part of the landscape for most of us.

 

But that’s not what God intends. He made us for relationship. That’s why He gave us the church: a family closer than any friends, and friends closer than any family. So close does God intend we would become with others in the church family that He calls other followers our brothers and sisters.

 

Life is hard, but God is good, and He has given us each other: a flesh-and-blood embodiment of the love of God in a less-than-loving world. Through one another we taste something of God’s compassion and kindness, His strength and encouragement, His comfort and counsel. 

 

Not only does God wish to bring us closer to one another. He also intends to use others to bring us closer to God. It’s a spiritual maxim: we will never grow as fast or as far alone as we will with others. As they run the race with us, our brothers and sisters in Christ cheer us on, spurring us to ever-deeper spiritual growth as we learn from their example and benefit from their encouragement and prayers. And what a humbling privilege that God would use us in their lives in much the same way!

 

“This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but he loved us and sent his son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love has been brought to full expression through us.” 1 John 4.10-12 (NLT)

 

Identifying and using our God-given abilities and resources to serve others

 

We live in a selfish world. One of the most distinctive aspects of the Christian life is that God turns us outward from ourselves and into a life that is concerned first for others. In doing so, we conform our lives to a pattern set by the One we follow, who, as we are told in Mark’s account of His life, came “not to be served but to serve” (Mark 10.45).

 

As Rick Warren puts it at the start of his book, The Purpose-Driven Life, “It’s not about you.” It is tempting for us to think that God’s work in this world begins and ends with us. But while God loves each of us more than we can fathom, His love does not end with us. Others matter to Him too.

 

But when God sends us into one another’s lives, He does not send us empty-handed. The Bible teaches that God has given each one of us spiritual gifts that we can use to make a difference in one another’s lives. Maybe you were given the gift of wisdom or the gift of encouragement, or perhaps the gift of leadership or communication or prayer.

 

It is part of the economy of the Kingdom. God has given us gifts He intends for others, and others gifts He intends for us. So we have the privilege — and responsibility — of discovering our God-given gifts, developing them, and then turning around and using them to make a difference in the lives of others.

 

“We know what real love is because Christ gave up his life for us. And so we also ought to give up our lives for our Christian brothers and sisters.” 1 John 3.16 (NLT)

 

“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things

God may be praised through Jesus Christ.” 1Peter 4.10-11 (NIV)

 

Building friendships with those outside the church and sharing our faith with them

 

A man once described the Christian life as one beggar telling another beggar where to find food. What an apt description! When we come to Christ, we remain spiritually needy and dependent. But where once we were lost, now we know where to turn for life . . . and we want to bring others along.

 

What motivates us to share our faith? Well, we believe that Christianity is not just one attractive religious option alongside a shelf-full of others. Instead, we take Jesus at His word when He says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me.” (John 14.6) 

 

If we really believe that Jesus is the answer to our deepest life questions and spiritual longings — which we do — then telling others about the work God has done in our lives is not unloving or insensitive; it is the most loving thing we can do. And it requires no more courage than introducing them to a friend you are eager for them to meet.

 

God has given each of us a calling in this world. The way we work, the way we study, the way we live: God will use those things to stir the curiousity of those He has placed around us in our circles of influence. He intends that our lives would be so winsome, so compelling, that others will be moved to ask what makes us different. God calls us to show others through our lives and to tell others with our words about the invitation to abundant life that He holds out to this world in Christ.

 

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” 1 Peter 3.15 (NIV)

 

Before you do anything else, make sure you’re really on the path. Unfortunately, churches haven’t always done the best job of making the Good News of the Christian faith clear. It would be possible to go to church all your life or think of yourself as a deeply spiritual person, but never really discover the sort of relationship God intends for you to have with Him through Christ.

 

Trying hard to “be a good Christian,” or using the Discipleship Destinations to try to impress God or please Him, won’t get you where you want to go. It is only through faith in Christ that we are made right with God. The Discipleship Destinations are a response to God’s love, not a way to earn it. If there is any question in your mind about where you stand with God, go back and read through the brochure titled, “Beginning the Adventure.”

 

As a next step, we encourage you to pick up the brochures that correspond to each of the Five Discipleship Destinations. These will provide you with a description of the ministries we offer that correspond with each of the Destinations. That way you can take the initiative in your own spiritual growth, and take that next step to get involved.

 

Where do I start? Is there a sequence I need to follow? No, there really isn’t. God might lead you to incorporate them into your life in any sequence. For instance, here’s a sample itinerary that you might follow along your spiritual journey if you were a college student:

 

1. Your first stop might be abiding, as you decide to make regular participation in Sunday worship a top priority in your schedule.

 

2. That might be followed by giving more time to learning by coming earlier on Sunday mornings and attending the Collegiate Forum.

 

3. Maybe your third stop would be to incorporate reaching, as you give a weekend to use your Spanish-speaking or gift-wrapping skills to help out with Christmas for Everyone.

     

4. As a fourth stop, you might decide to step into serving: and get involved in singing in the choir or helping out in a second-grade Sunday school class.

 

5. Finally, your fifth stop could be relating, as you clear your Sunday nights and get involved in a small group.

 

We want you eventually to get to a place where all five of these destinations are part of your spiritual journey.

 

So, put the description of the five destinations in front of you, think about what aspect of the Christian life most seems to be missing from your life right now, and then pray about it, asking God to direct you in taking that next step.

 

What matters is simply that you are making progress in your faith, working towards incorporating all of these destinations into your journey. As Paul wrote to his protégé Timothy:

 

“Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.” 1 Timothy 4.15 (NIV)

 

Of course, we’re eager to help you as you plan out the next step. We can suggest a class or help you get connected with a growth group, and we’d be happy to help you think through the best way to use your gifts in one of the ministries of the church. Just stop by our information desk, or give us a call (463-7303).

 

So pick an area where you believe God wants you to grow and jump in! And don’t forget: the journey is always easier with a friend by your side, so feel free to invite someone to join you as you begin down the path.

 

The greatest adventure of life is the adventure of saying yes to God and following Him into the life He designed for us.

 

Life is never the same once He steps in. All of life turns on its head, and we get swept up into something far greater than ourselves. And it isn’t only life that changes. We ourselves will never be the same — and yet we will be more ourselves than we ever were before.

 

Many words could be used to describe the true Christian life. But the words “dull” and “uninteresting” will never be found among them. Enjoy the adventure!

 

 

Scripture References:

NIV: New International Version

NLT: New Living Translation

CEV: Contemporary English Version

NRSV: New Revised Standard Version