Standing Firm

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. [1 Corinthians 16:13]

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Solo Women – A True Disciple Knows Their God-Given Vision

Cathy

Being A Believer Costs You Nothing, But Being A Disciple Costs You Everything

Girlfriend, are you ready to embrace the cost of discipleship to walk in your God-given vision?

NOTE: this is an outline more content in video/podcast.

SCRIPTURES FOR THIS TEACHING

Believing in Christ is the foundation of salvation and accepting Jesus as your Lord and savior is a free gift from God. But discipleship? It’s the path of surrender, sacrifice, and purpose. And it’s in discipleship that we discover God’s vision for our lives.

Each video that I’m sharing in our vision series builds on each other. Discipleship calls for a deeper level of commitment: A true disciple doesn’t just say, ‘I believe.’ They say, ‘I will do and say whatever the Father tells me to do and say no matter the cost!

Jesus is our perfect example of this

John 5:19-20 So Jesus explained, I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. In fact, the Father will show him how to do even greater works than healing this man. Then you will truly be astonished.

In this video, I will be sharing with you the Difference Between Being A Believer Vs A Disciple, Why Discipleship Is Key To Your Vision, The Costs And Rewards Of Discipleship, And Four Ways To Step Into True Discipleship and Your God Given Vision. 

CLICK ON IMAGE BELOW TO WATCH THE VIDEO!

 

 

Believer Vs. Disciple: Understanding The Difference

Being a Believer

  • Belief brings salvation (John 3:16).

John 3:16 For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life

  • It’s the entry point into God’s family.
  • We receive forgiveness, redemption, and all of God’s promises
  • Some people like to use it as their get of hell card; but don’t be deceived

1 John 3:1-2 See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.  Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.

Ephesians 2:19 So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family

  • Costs you nothing
  • It’s God’s free gift of grace.
  • You are a member of God’s family

Being a Disciple

Luke 9:23 Then he said to the crowd, if any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.

  • Self-denial is an important part of being a disciple.
  • Jesus sacrificed His life for us
  • He demands that we die to ourselves so can experience the new life He has provided.
  • We do this first by recognizing that we can’t save ourselves by our own effort
  • Second, by trusting God—not self—for salvation.
  • Then we daily need to deny our own wisdom and seek God’s wisdom and direction for our lives.

Luke 14:28-33 But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. They would say, There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it! Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down with his counselors to discuss whether his army of 10,000 could defeat the 20,000 soldiers marching against him? And if he can’t, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace while the enemy is still far away. So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.

Disciple requires

  • Surrender
  • Sacrifice
  • a willingness to let go of worldly desires
  • a willingness to admit you don’t know everything
  • your comfort
  • convenience
  • control

However, this is the best part if we are willing to become a true disciple, in return we will gain clarity, purpose, vision, and intimacy with God Almighty.

Why True Discipleship Is The Key To Your God-Given Vision

Discipleship aligns your heart with God’s purposes

  • it’s from our intimate relationship with Jesus that our vision comes from
  • vision doesn’t come from the world, outside of ourselves, or from our skills and talents.
  • Vision comes from being in the Word, praying in the spirit, and being that living sacrifice [which we talked about in our previous video]
  • Vision requires submission to God’s will.
  • Only when we let go of our plans can we embrace the things that God has planned for our lives.

Proverbs 4:25-27 Look straight ahead and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.

Isaiah 55:8-9 My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts, says the Lord. And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

Vision comes through sacrifice

  • Because a God sized vision is huge it’s not just going to pop in your head and happen like instant mashed potatoes.
  • There will be blood, sweat and tears through out this entire process
  • The discovery of the vision, the timing, the growth and development of you, and the implementation of the vision
  • You cannot hold onto the world with one hand and expect to grab God’s vision with the other

Hebrews 12:10-11 For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.

1 Corinthians 9:25-27 All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.

Proverbs 12:1 To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction.

Vision comes through discipleship and discipleship comes through focus, discipline, and obedience.

The Costs and the Rewards of Discipleship

The Costs

  • Sacrificing your own desires for God’s plans.
  • Letting go of toxic relationships, bad habits, or worldly ambitions.
  • Surrendering everything
  • Becoming a living sacrifice
  • Obedience
  • Daily commitment

Philippians 3:8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ

The Rewards

  • Peace
  • Purpose
  • Power
  • Vision
  • Intimate relationship with God

1 Timothy 6:6 Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.

Matthew 19:29 And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life.

John 14:27 I am leaving you with a gift of peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

Acts 13:52 [NKJV] And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

John 8:12 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.

John 16:33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.

  • God’s vision will not only bless you but also allow you to impact others for His glory.
  • When you walk in your God-given vision, you step into a life of significance and eternal reward

4 Ways to Walk Out Discipleship for God’s Vision for Your Life

  1. Surrender Fully
  • Start with a simple prayer
  • Lord, I surrender everything to You.
  • Help me to be that living sacrifice.
  • Teach me to follow You as a true disciple.

Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.

  1. Commit Daily
    • Take up your cross daily
    • Trust in God’s plan for your day
    • Stand firm in thankfulness, gratitude, prayer, worship, and the Word.

Proverbs 3:5-8 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.

  1. Count the Costs
    • What are you willing to give up to become a true disciple?
    • Worry, shame, condemnation
    • Job, boyfriend, home, etc.
    • What are the consequences if you don’t choose to be a disciple?

Matthew 7:24-27 Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.

  1. Act in Faith
    • Immerse yourself in the Word
    • Spend quiet time with the Lord in gratitude and thankfulness
    • Journal and listen
    • Take the next step the Lord has shown you

1 Peter 2:8-10 And, He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall. They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them. But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.

Are you ready to move beyond belief and become a true disciple who walks boldly in God’s vision for your life?

Being A Believer Costs You Nothing, But Being A Disciple Costs You Everything

There Are Great Promises, Blessings, And Rewards For The True Disciple. 😊

Until the next video/post remember You Are Who God Says You Are!

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