As we have considered, it was a great honor to be chosen as a disciple by one of the great teachers in biblical times, and yet we have been chosen by the King of kings to be His disciples. There is truly no higher calling or greater purpose. Even so, this is just the second step toward maturity in...

I have been privileged to know some of the top leaders in just about every field—the church, business, industry, education, government, sports, the military, science, and entertainment. Some common denominators are found in all who reach the highest levels. One is that they are energetically and...

Last week we began to look at what it means to be a disciple. In biblical times, being the disciple of a noteworthy teacher was one of the highest honors one could receive. Because the quality of the disciples reflected directly upon the teacher, teachers would seek the very best and brightest as...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

When I first moved to Charlotte, North Carolina in 1988, I received a word from the Lord that Amway, a family-owned international corporation, understood some things about the kingdom that the church did not, but needed to. I immediately determined to find out what Amway knew about the kingdom that...

The greatest Christian who will ever live will be the one who loves God the most. This is why the greatest souls to ever walk the earth are those who lived a life of pursuing God, seeking to do His will. This is because doing God’s will is proof of the true love of God, not merely a whim of human...