Next Steps 1.0 - Securing The Foundation

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The Ultimate Christian Discipleship Series for singles, one-on-one, and small study groups.

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Securing The Foundation NEXT STEPS 1.0

How to use this Book………………………………….4

1 A Firm Foundation……………………………..9-19

2 Hearing and Doing…………………….….…..21-35

3 Forgiveness……………………...………..……37-5 9

4 Repentance……………………………………..61-82

5 Faith……………………………………...…….83-103

6 Water Baptism………………………………105-116

7 Holy Spirit Baptism………………………...117-130

8 Discipleship…………………………….……131-151

9 The Church…………………………………..153-167

10 Community………………………….…….. . .169-181

How To Use This Book

After Peter preached to the multitudes on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2, the people who heard the message were moved in their hearts and under conviction from the Holy Spirit. They rushed forward and, with a sense of urgency, asked, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” In other words, “How are we to respond to what we have just heard?” Peter was faithful to answer their question in the way that would lead them into a proper Christian birth experience and a solid foundation for their Christian life. Notice what it says in the Book of Acts regarding this experience: Peter's words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, "Brothers, what should we do?" Peter replied, "Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is to you, and to your children, and even to the Gentiles—all who have been called by the Lord our God." Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation!" Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all. This booklet is designed to give every believer in Christ a basic foundation for their new found life in Christ. In addition, it is designed to assist the believer in inspecting their personal foundation in the faith, ensuring that none of the basic building blocks to victorious Christian living are missing in their life and experience. Acts 2:37-41, NLT

This booklet can be used in three ways:

1. It can be used as a booklet for personal study. By reading through the material and looking up the various Bible references the student will be built up and encouraged in their faith. 2. It can be used as a manual for personal discipleship. In this case, a more mature believer would meet one-on-one in an informal setting with a new believer or new member to go through the booklet discussing its contents and making appropriate application. 3. It can be used as the basis for a class in the local church to help new members or new believers grow in their faith. By going through the material together as a class or a small group, church leaders can feed the people of God on the foundations of the faith, line upon line. The text of this manual follows a simple question and answer format with some space given for additional notes. Instructions for Users If you are going through this manual as an individual, realize that the goal of going though the material is to experience life change. Therefore it is wise to pray at the beginning of each session and ask the Lord to reveal to you His pathway to apply what you are reading to your life. Do not be in a rush, but go through the manual at your own pace meditating on what is being said in each lesson and honesly interacting with the material presented. The spaces in the text are there for you to journal what you feel God is revealing to you or saying to you in the process. Individual User

There is no reward for getting through the material as quickly as possible, the reward comes as we allow the Holy Spirit to deepen our faith in the process. As you journal though this manual a little each day, it is important that you are completely honest with yourself if you are going to truly benefit from this study. No one has to see what you have written. This experience is between you and the Lord. Make the most of it. If you are assisting someone to work through this manual in a one-on-one relationship, it will be good to meet with your disciple and discuss how to use the manual, encouraging them to make a commitment to be open and honest with the Lord thoughout the process. It would be ideal to meet weekly asking the disciple to work though the next session’s material the week before, doing a little bit each day as a part of their devotional life. In your weekly meeting you can ask the disciple if they understood everything that they read, if they were able to complete the assigned task, what they learned the most and if they had anything else that they would like to share from this expereince. If they were not able to complete their assigned chapter, do not proceed but give them the same assignment for the week following. Be sure to pray with them concerning the areas to which God is speaking. If you are working through this manual in a small group or class with many participants, it is best to start with an initial gathering of those who will be participating. In that initial session, you will be asking participants for a firm commitment to grow in faith and in their relationship to the Lord and to make every effort to attend each session. Each session builds Personal Discipler Small Group or Class Leader

upon the other and the overall benefit of this experience will be diminished if there are gaps. It would be good to review the guidelines listed above for an individual using this manual. It is best to assign a chapter a week in advance and ask the participants to spend a little time each day praying and journaling their way though it. It is important in a group to ask them to share only those things that they feel comfortable sharing in that context remembering that the intimate work is between them and the Holy Spirit. As you go through each lesson you can ask the participants the same kind of questions that are asked by an individual discipler as seen above. Always begin and end each session with prayer.

A New Beginning

When a person sincerely comes to Christ, the Bible indicates that they are “born again.” As such it speaks of this experience as a “new birth,” a new start or a new beginning where the old things of our previous or old life pass away and all things become new. In other words, we experience a brand new life in Christ. Read and meditate on the following verses and see if you can identify things that should characterize this new life in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17, NKJV Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Personal Notes: _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ John 1:12-13, NIV Yet to all who did receive him [Jesus], to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

Personal Notes: _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ I Peter 1:22-23, NLT You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart. For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. Personal Notes: _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ Ephesians 4:21-24, NLT Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from Him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. Personal Notes: _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________

A New Life Needs a New Foundation

We all know how important a foundation is when it comes to building any physical structure. The completed building may look nice from all outward appearances, but if the foundation is weak or damaged, the whole building can be in jeopardy. As new believers we do not want to try to build our new life on an old foundation that was laid during our life apart from Christ. That kind foundation is shaky at best (Job 22:15-16). Job 4:18-20, NKJV If He puts no trust in His servants, if He charges His angels with error, how much more those who dwell in houses of clay , whose foundation is in the dust , who are crushed before a moth? They are broken in pieces from morning till evening; they perish forever, with no one regarding. The foundation that man lays is “in the dust” and offers little or no lasting security. This is a house of cards just waiting for the smallest thing to blow it over. In other words, man’s foundation apart from Christ is equal to having no foundation at all (Luke 6:49).

A New Life Needs a Foundation Laid by God

If our new found faith in Christ is to succeed and weather the storms of life, it must be built on a foundation that is laid by God. While man’s foundation is shaky, the foundation of God is a sure and everlasting foundation (2 Tim. 2:19; Pro. 10:25).

2 Timothy 2:19, NKJV

Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” Proverbs 10:25, NKJV When the whirlwind passes by, the wicked is no more, but the righteous has an everlasting foundation.

Only One Foundation is Built to Last

Jesus is the rock foundation that must be laid in our lives.

I Corinthians 3:9-11 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. The foundation stone of Christ is properly laid when the principles of the doctrine of Christ are effectively operating in our lives. Hebrews 6:1-3, NKJV Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits. Before we can build on this foundation and go on in our Christian life, we need to get a building “permit.” God will not

issue the permit if we have been negligent in establishing a proper foundation. It is a good thing to inspect the foundation before proceeding with further building.

Laying a Sure Foundation is Costly

The “fun” part of building a house is putting on the finishing touches and decorating the interior. The hardest work comes at the beginning which involves clearing the land, excavating for the foundation, laying the forms and pouring the concrete. We usually do not get real excited about these early steps, but they are absolutely necessary if we are to trust our lives to the final product. The foundation is not the prettiest part of the house, but it is absolutely necessary. In the end, the foundation of the house may not even be seen by the casual observer, even though it was very costly to put in place. Jesus mentioned the cost of being one of His followers and starting our life out right.

Read and meditate on the following passage and see if you can identify some of the things that Jesus expected of those who would follow Him.

Mark 8:34-38, NKJV

When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he

gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” Personal Notes: _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________

Laying a Sure Foundation Requires Five Things

1. It involves a denial of one’s self.

Matthew 16:24, NKJV Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

What do you think it means to “deny one’s self”?

2. It involves taking up one’s cross.

Luke 9:23, NKJV Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

What do you think it means to “take up one’s cross”?

3. It involves losing your life in some way (Mark 8:35).

Matthew 16:25, NKJV For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

What do you think it means to “lose one’s life”?

4. It involves making God your most important relationship.

Matthew 10:37-39, NKJV

He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. Point to Ponder: How deep is your love for the Lord? Is it really your highest relationship? What are some of the things that might challenge Jesus for the first place in your life? Personal Notes: ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ Mark 12:29-30, NLT Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The LORD our God is the one and only LORD. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’”

5. It involves a continual reaching toward a mark, goal or destiny.

Luke 9:62, NKJV But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Laying a good foundation in our life is not just a one-time commitment, it is a life-time commitment. It is realizing that God has a plan for my life and then doing what I can to reach forward and fulfill my God-ordained destiny. As costly as this all seems, nothing is ever really a sacrifice when it comes to our service to God, because what God asks us to give up for Him is not worthy to be compared to what He gives back to us in return. He asks us for things that are only going to hurt us or lead us down the wrong path and He replaces themwith things that will bring us abundant life (John 10:10).

Read and meditate on the following verses. What do they speak to you?

Luke 18:28-30, NKJV Then Peter said, “See, we have left all and followed You.” So He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life.”

Personal Notes: _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ Romans 8:18, NKJV For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Personal Notes: _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, NKJV

My Prayer:

Dear Father,

I thank you for the new life that I have come to know in Christ. My desire is to live for You forever. I know that for this to happen I need a solid foundation. Please help me to continually choose for You in the decisions that I have to make. Give me strength to let go of my past life and stretch toward that new life that I have found in You. Amen

In the last lesson we discovered that, as we enter our new life in Christ, it is essential to lay a good foundation. The rock foundation of our new life is “Christ” coupled with the principles of the doctrine of Christ as found in the Bible (Heb. 6:1-3). However, laying these foundation stones in our life is not simply a matter of knowing what the Bible has to say about these things, it involves putting the principles into practice and ensuring that we are personally experiencing the truth contained within them. The foundation of our Christian life is based on the principle of “hearing and doing.” Jesus told a similar parable of two builders on two separate occasions, once in Matthew and once in Luke. As you read through these two accounts note the similarities of and the differences between the wise builder and the foolish builder. Matthew 7:24-27, NKJV Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: Hearing and Doing

and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.

Characteristics of Wise Builder in Matthew: _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ Characteristics of Foolish Builder in Matthew: _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ But why do you call Me “Lord, Lord,” and not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great. Luke 6:46-49, NKJV

Characteristics of Wise Builder in Luke: _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ Characteristics of Foolish Builder in Luke: _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ These two builders represent everyone who finds themselves in a place of hearing the word of God. The parable is not about believers and unbelievers. It represents two types of believers. They are both in the process of building the house which represents their life. There are many similarities between the two builders. Notice the things that the two builders have in common: ➢ Both builders were hearers of the Word. ➢ Both builders were in a building process. ➢ Both builders evidently completed their houses. ➢ Both houses looked fine from the outside. ➢ Both builders experienced the rain, the floods and the winds. Similarities between the Two Builders

Apparent Advantages of the Foolish Man

➢ The foolish man seemed to get a quicker start (no digging deep). ➢ The foolish man had an easier task (the easy way). ➢ The foolish man potentially lived in his house sooner. ➢ The foolish man’s house did not cost as much to build. ➢ The wise man dug deep (cleaned out everything). ➢ The wise man built on an unshakable foundation (the ROCK). ➢ The wise man did not care how long it took. ➢ The wise man was willing to pay the price. ➢ The wise man did not bypass important steps in the process. ➢ The foolish man’s house immediately fell and great was the fall of it. ➢ The wise man’s house was not shaken but stood through the storm. ➢ The moral of the story: It is cheaper to build right the first time. Even though the foolish man expended a large amount of energy to build his house, he had done it the wrong way. The The Different Way the Wise Man Built A Great Difference in the Result When the rain, winds and floods reached a critical intensity…

only way for him to rectify the problem was to go back and start over and build it the way the wise man had built his house. In the end, if the foolish man was to have an enduring house, it would eventually cost him more than what it cost the wise man who built his house right the first time.

The Point of the Story or…

What Made the Wise Man Wise?

The whole point that Jesus was trying to make is that, when we hear the word of God and do not obey it or put it into practice, we are building foolishly. If we are wise builders, when we hear the word of God, we will act on it. In doing so we are building safely and securely. Not every person who calls themselves a Christian has this foundation in place. Romans 1:32, NIV Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. Matthew 23:1-3, NLT Then Jesus said to the crowds and to His disciples, "The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don't follow their example. For they don't practice what they teach.” There are many who know what to do, but do not do it.

There are many who have natural ears but they do not hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to them. Jesus instructed those who have ears to “hear” (Mt. 13:9; Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:3, 6, 13, 22).

Revelation 2:7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says…

Jesus alludes to the fact that we all have two sets of ears. We have natural ears and we have spiritual ears. As far as God is concerned, we have not truly heard Him speak until we have acted in obedience to what we have heard Him say to us.

Question to Ponder: Is there anything that God is saying to me that I am refusing to hear or to which I am having difficulty responding?

Our relationship to Christ should be characterized by all of the following:

As you read through each of these points and meditate on the verse associated with them, ask yourself, “Is this my relationship with Christ?”

1. It should be a relationship of love.

John 14:15, NKJV If you love Me, keep My commandments.

Point to Ponder: Is this my relationship with Christ?

2. It should be a relationship of sheep to shepherd.

John 10:26-28, NKJV But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.

Point to Ponder: Is this my relationship with Christ?

3. It should be a relationship of lordship and obedience.

Luke 6:46, NKJV

But why do you call Me “Lord, Lord,” and not do the things which I say?

Point to Ponder: Is this my relationship with Christ?

4. It should be a relationship of discipleship.

Matthew 21:6, NKJV So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.

The greatest thing that can be said of a disciple is that they followed the wishes of their master and did what he asked.