Discover the essential teachings and steps for new Christians in this insightful episode of the InTouch Podcast. Join Charles Stanley as he explores the critical truths every believer needs to know to thrive in their faith journey. From understanding who Jesus is in your life to the significance of daily Bible reading and prayer, this episode covers key elements that will fortify your spiritual foundation and guide you toward a life filled with peace and purpose.
00:00:01 Introduction and First Steps for New Believers
Welcome to the InTouch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Thursday, January 2nd. Once a person expresses faith in Jesus, how well could you instruct them in what to do next? Today, you’ll hear some crucial truths every believer needs to know to thrive in the Christian life.
SPEAKER 02 :
When you were saved, did anybody sit you down and say, well, let me explain to you just what happened to you? I want to talk to you about God so you’ll understand who He is. I want to explain to you who Jesus is and His relationship to God. Did anybody say to you, now there are certain things you need to know now that you are a Christian? And one of the things that you need to realize is it’s very important that you read the Bible every day. It’s food for your soul. It’ll make a difference. You’ll find a lot of information that’s more than information. It’s divine guidance. Not only that, you need to be sure to spend time praying every day, asking for the Lord’s leadership in your life, whatever the needs may be. And you need to be baptized now that you’re saved because that is the command of the Lord Jesus Christ. And to wait on that is not a wise idea. Because you’ll always think that something and feel that something is missing, and what’s missing is you were not obedient to God at that point. And then, of course, not only to be baptized, but to join a church where they’re teaching the Word of God, where the Word of God is preeminent above everything else. Because what you’ll be doing, you’ll be filling your mind with the Word of God. You’ll be growing in your Christian life. Things will begin to change in your life. You’ll begin to have understanding. You’ll have a peace. You’ll have a joy. You’ll have trials and difficulties and hardships. But because you’re in that book every day, God will be giving you wisdom and direction. And because you’re talking to Him every day, He will be quieting your spirit, calming your spirit, and giving you clear direction. Not only that. You will be wanting to give because, you see, God gave His Son for you, and He has a principle by which we’re to give, and that is a tithe of our income, ten percent. When you do that, what you’re going to learn is you’re going to learn to trust God. You’re going to find Him blessing you in ways financially that you never dream of. And not only that, you also need to tell somebody else what Jesus has done and what He’s doing in your life. Because you see, He said we’re to be like salt and light. Our life is to make a difference in somebody else’s life. Did anybody set you down and tell you those things? become a child of God, and nobody ever tells them what they should expect as a result of that. When they join a church, nobody ever tells them, here’s what you can expect and here’s your responsibility. So I want you to turn, if you will, to Philippians chapter two. Beginning in verse five of this second chapter of Philippians, Scripture says, Have this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted him and bestowed on him a name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Now watch the next phrase. So then, that is on the basis of all that, so then, My beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God. who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” That is one of the most important verses in the Bible when it comes to living a Christian life. And the first thing I want us to talk about is simply this, and that is the person and place of Jesus Christ in your life. You say, oh, well, I’ve been a Christian for years and years and years. But just listen carefully. Who is He? When you trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you didn’t just get your sins forgiven, you assumed a position of followership. That is to follow Jesus Christ who is the Lord of everything and all things. And so many people who trust Christ as their Savior, nobody ever tells them about that. They say, well, I trusted Jesus as my Savior, now I’m a Christian. A Christian to do what? A Christian to live how? No name to equal His name. He is the Lord, every knee will bow, every tongue confess. Why? Confess that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father. That’s the will of the Father, that I confess that He’s my Lord. And what I’m saying is simply this, put it in modern terms, I see Jesus Christ as my Savior. I also know Him in a practical way daily. He’s the boss. He has the right to call every single play in my life. He has the right to tell me where to go. He has the authority and the enablement and the power to not only tell me what to do, but also enable me to do it. He is the Lord of our life. So, the first thing a person needs to understand is the person and the place of Jesus Christ in their life. He’s the boss. Look at this verse. He says that we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. What does he mean by that? He simply means this, that we’re to put our salvation experience into the operation mode. It’s to be operational. That is, now having trusted Jesus Christ as my Savior, I am to live out what God has placed within me, which is the life of Christ. When you trusted Him as your Savior, the Bible says the Holy Spirit came to indwell you, in you, with you, and upon you forever. And it is the Holy Spirit working in and through us that God works out our life. We’re not talking about salvation. We’re talking about sanctification. That’s what sanctification’s all about. Sanctification’s all about this. Having trusted Jesus Christ as my Savior, the sanctifying process is this. He sets us apart. purpose, and for His work, and for His glory and honor. Once Jesus saved you, at that moment, He went to work in your life. Now, for us is one thing, but for Himself ultimately. He created you, He saved you, and He intends to live through us in order to do what? To bring about His purpose in this world. That is, all of us are His followers. And I cannot imagine somebody saying, well, I’ve been saved and I’ve been baptized and I’m a church member and so, you know, what else is there? I had a friend of mine that said to me one time, I was talking about something he needed to do, and he said, look, I’m not crossing that line. I’m not getting that committed under any condition. And I want to say to you, if you’re one of those believers You say that you’re a Christian and you’ve drawn a line in your life and you’ve said, I’m not going to be that committed. It doesn’t make sense what it is. You have told the boss what you’re going to do and what you’re not going to do. Where in the world, you’d probably get fired. In your relationship to Jesus, you’d suffer something worse than that. Listen, your fellowship with Him would suddenly get severed. I’m not going to do the will of God. I’m going to have it my way. I’m going to do what I want to do. That is a disastrous attitude. And what I want you to see is this. Because somebody didn’t explain all this to you early in life is no excuse. You say, well, you know, I want to do the best I can. Well, you’re hearing it. That is that Jesus is the Lord of your life. And He’s living and working within you to accomplish His purpose for you. And so, what does that say? It says, you and I have responsibility. That’s what it’s all about. That is, if I trust Him as my Savior, He writes my name in the Lamb’s Book of Life, I know I’m going to heaven, He’s preparing a place for me, I have a responsibility. This is what I would say to any church member, for example. When you join a church, wherever it might be, And you become a part of it, you have a responsibility. Pray for them, support it, because you’re a part of something. Getting the gospel to the world. He says, work out your salvation. Don’t get saved and sit. That’s totally unscriptural. He said to those apostles, follow Me. And when He walked along the seashore and He said to Peter and John, He said, follow Me. For them to have followed Him meant they had to obey Him. When He said, I’ll make you fishers of men, He gave them a big signal. Don’t save your boat. Sell it. It’s a different story. It’s a different life. Follow Me and I’ll make you fishers of men. When you got saved, listen carefully, Jesus had a plan for you and a purpose for you, and He made you some big promises. I’m sorry nobody told you what they were. Because you see, many people struggle in their Christian life and they struggle oftentimes out of ignorance. They struggle because nobody ever gave them any instruction. They look around at other church members and say, well, I guess that’s the way it is. I see how they’re living and I see how they’re living. Somebody may say, if that’s a Christian life, I don’t want it. Jesus Christ is the Lord. of your life, and He has the most awesome plan. But you’ve got to be willing to follow His leadership and His guidance. And that is, I’m going to get up every morning recognizing and realizing this, that by my conversations with people and by my conduct before them and by my character, I’m going to make an impact of some sort. That’s what He wants you to do. You see, people say, well, you know, I can’t preach, I can’t teach. You don’t have to do either one of those. Because what you’re doing is you’re sending a message. Well, whether a person is standing on a platform sending a message or living among other people sending a message, you’re sending a message. And the issue, I would ask you, is this. What is the message you’re sending? Are you sending a message that you’ve been saved by the grace of God, that you have peace and joy in your heart? Are you sending the message? that the power of God is working in your life? What kind of message are you sending them? That God answers prayer? That you’re not threatened and fuming over things? That you’re putting your trust in Him? You’re sending a message. He says, work it out. In your home, what are you working out that’s inside of you in Christ? What about where you work? What do they see? What do they hear? What’s implied by the life that you’re living? Watch this. The more conscious you are of the Lordship of Jesus Christ who is living within you, the more conscious you are of His presence, the more quickly you’re going to give the right answer. There is a responsibility to live a godly life. And He says you’re to work it out. You’re to live it out. That’s our responsibility. So first, here’s what he said. He said, you need to know who He is in the place of Jesus in your life. And secondly, you need to realize you have a responsibility. You have a responsibility to live out what He’s placed in you. And the third thing he says is simply this. Every one of us has this powerful resource within us. So listen to what he said. So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not in my presence only, but also in my absence, work out your salvation and do it with fear and trembling. Now, what does that mean? Does that mean I’m to be afraid? No, here’s what it means. What I say to you often, you must take it seriously. You must not relate to Jesus Christ and His Lordship in a casual sort of way. That is, does it make any difference the things you say, the things you do, the places you look, the places you go? Yes, it does. With fear and trembling means this. Not that I’m to be afraid that I’m going to make a mistake. We all make mistakes. But it means that I take seriously that Jesus is my Lord. I want to take it so seriously that I consider carefully before I make decisions. Before I’ll say, I’ll do this or I’ll do that, or that I agree with somebody about something they want to do that I’m not sure about. And see, if Jesus is my Lord, it’s serious business. Because you see, we’re talking about eternal life. We’re not talking about just these few years. We’re talking about eternal life. We’re talking about an eternal reward. We’re talking about taking seriously what Jesus said when He said, follow Me. When you trusted Him as your Savior, you didn’t hear an audible voice, but I can tell you this. His Spirit to your spirit, you may have been young, follow Me. I’ll never mislead you. I’ll always guide you right. He says, with fear and trembling. Then watch what this last thing is, and that is, We have the most powerful resource. And I love what he says and the way he says it in this particular passage. The last thing he says here is this, in verse thirteen, it is God who is at work in you both to will and to work of His good pleasure. Now, let me show you why that’s important. Here’s what this means. It is God who gives us places within us His will. He will tell you what He wants you to do in any and every situation. And if He wants you to do something, He’ll place that will in you. He says, not only does He give us His will, but He says, and He uses the term, He energizes us to get it done. That is, He would never ask you to do anything. He will not enable you to do. So, when the Lord speaks to somebody’s life, and I’ve met guys who the Lord called them to preach and they say, I can’t do that. I just can’t do it. And so, they rebel against God. They say, I can’t do it. They don’t believe that verse of Scripture. This is a powerful verse. Listen to this. He says, whatever He says, It is God who is at work in you, both to will and work for His good pleasure, which means this, that whatever you have faced in life, God says, I am at work in you. Whatever I will, I work. So that it’s not left up to us. And here’s something else. It leaves me totally inexcusable. When God tells us to do something, we say, oh, I can’t do that. What you’re saying is, God, you lied. The Bible’s not true because the Scripture says whatever He wills us to do, He will work it out in our life. And so, you and I have the right to be determined and to be confident and to be assured that when we start walking His path, He will be there every single moment to enable us to accomplish it, whatever it is. That is His divine commitment, that He is in us. Listen, He who wills it, works it. And the next time you come up to some difficult situation, you think, well, Lord, now what am I going to do about this? And what am I going to do about that? Remember this verse of Scripture. Just look at it. Whatever He wills, He works. That’s real simple, but it’s powerful. Because this is God’s awesome promise, whatever He requires of you, you can absolutely be confident that He is going to equip you, enable you to do it, no matter what it is. Just be sure it’s the will of God. That is, that He’s the one who said it and not someone else. He says in verse thirteen, it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Now, what’s that? This is God’s good pleasure that you and I follow Him and become Christlike as we work out and play out our salvation experience, that we become Christlike. That’s what He’s up to. That brings Him the most glory. Listen, watch this. What you and I become in the eyes of God is far more than what you and I do. He will work in us what He wills for us, and it’ll bring Him great pleasure. And the verse of Scripture to prove that is Romans 8, 29. He says He predestined, He predetermined, what? That you and I would be conformed to the likeness of His Son. That’s the will of God. That’s His purpose in your life. That’s His plan for your life. And if you will acknowledge His Lordship, He is the Lord. He’s the boss in my life. If you don’t like bosses, you just remember this. He’s loving, kind, generous, and I could just go on and on and on with the wonderful attributes of God. He’s the boss. But He guides and leads us for our own good and for His great pleasure. He says it’s a pleasurable thing to God. that you and I would walk in His Spirit.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you for listening to part two of I’m Saved, Now What? For more inspirational messages like this one, visit our online 24-7 station. And if you’d like to know more about Charles Stanley or InTouch Ministries, stop by intouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of InTouch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
