CCF: Forward in Faith
by Pastor Ricky Sarthou
Philippians 1:6
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
The Bible says we are God’s masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus for good works that He prepared in advance for us to do. Moving forward in faith, becoming more like Jesus. The end goal is to make us like Jesus in the way we live our lives on the outside because we are being changed to be more like Jesus on the inside.
When are we most like Jesus? Some would say, we are most like Jesus when we are – holy, prayerful, compassionate, humble, kind, gracious, forgiving, selfless, loving, and generous. But here’s another answer that we should not miss, we are most like Jesus when we make disciples. (Matthew 28:18-20)
Reading from the book of Luke 4:16-30, we will look into the three aspects of the amazing journey of moving forward in faith:
We need the power of the Spirit to go on and complete this journey.
Apart from the power of the Holy Spirit working in your life, we can do nothing of true eternal value. This is also true even in the life of Jesus Christ when the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove (Luke 3:21-22).
As we venture out and move forward in faith, we need to be constantly filled, empowered, and led by the Holy Spirit. (Luke 4:1-2) Just like Jesus, when we move forward in faith we will face opposition. For we are in a spiritual battle fighting against the temptations of this world as mentioned in 1 John 2:15-16 - the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life.
The Bible commands us to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). How do we know if we are filled by the Holy Spirit? Galatians 5:22-23, teaches us that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
We cannot move forward in faith without the power of the Spirit of God.
We have the immense privilege of walking closely in the footsteps of Jesus, becoming more like Him, in His character and in His focus on the mission to make disciples.
We have the privilege of moving forward in faith as disciples and disciple-makers.
Luke 12:16-21, accounts for the parable of the rich fool and teaches us to be rich in God and to have Jesus as our greatest possession in life. We have the privilege of helping people know Jesus so that they would not meet eternity just like the rich fool.
We were all once captives of sin, but Jesus bought us to set us free. We are free in Jesus, free to be His slaves not because we are forced to do it but because we want to live our lives for His pleasure. We have the privilege of being Jesus’ representatives and ambassadors in this world.
While there are people who are broken, crashed, and shattered, including us, Jesus came to set the oppressed free. It is Jesus who put our lives back together. And in the midst of those scars is the golden signature of the finger of God (Romans 8:28-29).
Apart from God, we can do nothing. It is a privilege to move forward in faith, to be an instrument of the prophecy of Jesus.
Just like any adventure, there are challenges along the way. Similarly, there are perils in making disciples.
Wherever we are in the discipleship journey, the challenge is to move to the next level. If you are a small group member, it’s time to start a discipleship group. If you are a small group leader, it’s time to inspire your members to start their own discipleship group.
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