Next Steps
Congratulations on accepting Jesus as your Savior! There is no greater decision you will ever make in your life. You may be wondering what's next for you in your journey with Christ. Well, we want to help. Below you will find some practical steps you can take to move forward in your walk with God.
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You are worth the Son of God. God has proclaimed that this is your value.
Freedom
"You are not your own. For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body." -1 Corinthians 6:19-20
"You are a new creation. The old has passed away, the new has come." -2 Corinthians 5:17
Because of salvation, we are no longer bound by what once held onto us. Past sin has no hold any longer. We are now living a brand new life that the enemy can't touch as long as we remain in Christ. There is no need to revisit the past because the blood of Jesus has cleansed us completely: past, present, & future.
Baptism is the outward statement of the inward change.
New Life
"For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the father, now we also may live new lives." -Romans 6:4
Although water baptism doesn't save us, it is important. Only through Christ can we receive salvation. So why is water baptism so important? Well, first, Jesus commanded it in Matthew 28:19 and we want to do all He commands us. Second, it is the public statement to those around you that you no longer are living to self, but to Christ. By doing this, you are telling your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ that you too are living for Him. This creates accountability for us, and that is an important tool when it comes to our spiritual growth.
Holy Spirit Infilling
The Holy Spirit empowers you to live like Jesus did in this world. Although you do receive the Holy Spirit at salvation, this is not the same as being filled with the Spirit. As you seek God in faith asking for His Spirit to fill you and surrender yourself to Him, He will fill you.
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and Judea & Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8
Growth isn't automatic nor does it happen by accident. Growth is intentional.
Habits
"Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness." -1 Peter 2:2-3
The Bible
The Bible is important. It's the source of all truth, give direction and instruction, and is a main avenue God is further revealed to us. It is important to develop a habit of being in the Bible. By doing this you will begin to be saturated with the truth of who God is, what He thinks and says about you, and how He wants you to live.
"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness." -2 Timothy 3:16
When it comes to reading the Bible, make sure it is a translation you can understand. I recommend the ESV or NLT. If you prefer to use your phone over a physical copy, you can click on one of the icons below to download an app onto your phone.
Prayer
“Never stop praying.” -1 Thessalonians 5:17 | NLT
“Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need…” -Philippians 4:6
There are very few things we are told to always do. Prayer is one of them. The importance of getting alone in a quiet place to pray on a daily basis cannot be stressed enough. Prayer is how we stay connected with God. Through it, we find out who God is and who we are as we speak to Him and Him to us. It is actually impossible to spiritually grow and live in closeness with God without prayer.
There is also a time to pray together. In Acts 2:42 it says that those who gave their lives to God "continually devoted themselves to prayer," and in Matthew we read Jesus saying that, "where two or three gather in My name, I will be among them." God desires both private and corporate times of prayer from His children.
Worship
"Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship." -Romans 12:1
Worship is a lifestyle. This encompasses everything. What we do with our time, money, and every other resource at our disposal is to be used in a worship-filled manner. The first time the word worship is used in the Bible, it is when Abraham went up the mountain to sacrifice Isaac. This was just a test, as God had no intention of allowing this to happen. But nonetheless, this gives us a clear picture of what worship is. It can be summed up in one word, and that word is obedience. Every moment of every day we live for God for, "It's not I who live, but Christ lives in me" (Galatians 2:20). God put all of Christ in us so that all that He is might flow out through us. In order for this to happen, we must live for Him in every moment.
We weren't created to be independent, but interdependent.
Community
“All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals, and to prayer.”
-Acts 2:42
“Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” -Hebrews 10:24-25
We weren't meant to do this alone. Meaningful friendships are a vital part of our life. When we come together and develop these types of relationships, we find the support, guidance, and encouragement we need to keep on moving forward. Here at New Hope we are striving to create avenues to help you get connected to other believers. We believe that it is in a spiritually healthy and vibrant community of believers that people grow the best.
The measure of a men's greatness is not the number of servants he has, but the number of people he serves.
Gifts
“As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” -Ephesians 4:16
"God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another." -1 Peter 4:10
Each of us has gifts, talents, and resources unique to us. We are to use them to serve one another in love. No believer is to be simply filling a seat on a Sunday morning. That's definitely not God's plan for anyone. God wants us to be a community of believers who have a desire to help others grow. A main way we do that is by serving. In order for the church to be healthy, every person needs to be doing their part to help make the church healthy.
I encourage you to seek God out on this and ask Him where He wants you. Ask for a willing heart that is ready to serve, no matter what it looks like. Just like Isaiah who didn't even know the mission but answered the call, may you have the same willing, loving, and devoted heart to serve.