After we have been born again, the next step in our progression toward maturity in Christ is to become a disciple. A disciple is a student but it is much more than that. A disciple in biblical times was one whose primary devotion of life was to be like their teacher. They awoke in the morning thinking of their teacher, the day centered on learning from him, and they went to bed at night reviewing what they had learned. A disciple’s whole life revolved around learning from their teacher. And the great teachers would not even consider taking...

       The first step in our race to go for the high calling of God in Christ is to believe in the Lord’s atoning sacrifice for our sins on the cross and to acknowledge Him as our Lord and Savior. When we see Jesus as the Christ sent from God, one of the greatest of all miracles takes place—we are born again.

         Being born again is probably impossible to understand until you have experienced it. It is a transformation so radical that it is like starting a whole new life. Everything in our lives become...

        Last week we laid out the basic steps of progression to full maturity in Christ: 1) Believer, 2) Disciple, 3) Servant, 4) Friend, and 5) Son. These are all addressed in the New Testament, and we will study each one briefly, but enough for it to be clearly seen. This is so we can see where we are in relation to this calling and what our next step is. First, a superficial historical overview can be helpful.

         This progression to maturity in Christ was taught in the first century and by “The Early...

        This week we will dig down a bit more on how important it is for every believer to have a vision of how far they can go in Christ, know where they are now, and see the next step. There are basically five levels of maturity in Christ that are revealed in the Scriptures:

1)   Believer – born again by faith in Christ and the atonement of His cross. This is the first step in the greatest journey we can ever take, but it is just the first step.

2)   Disciple...

        Last week I shared the first principle of the kingdom that I was told Amway Corporation understood better than the church did. This week I will share the second principle I learned from them. I learned the principle of connecting vision to a practical plan for accomplishing the vision.

         When someone comes into Amway, they are immediately shown what is possible to attain and how to set goals for attaining it. Then it is made clear to them where they are and what is the next step. This marries the vision to a...