How can Believers Finish Well in their Walks with the Lord？
Stephen Elliott emphasizes that believers can finish well in their walk with the Lord by cultivating a strong personal devotional life, engaging in mentoring and accountability, participating in retreats, and practicing family discipleship.
This sermon emphasizes the importance of finishing well in one's walk with God by highlighting key factors that contribute to spiritual growth and maturity. It discusses the significance of personal devotional life, mentoring, accountability groups, retreats, and family discipleship in nurturing a strong relationship with God and ensuring a fruitful Christian journey.
Full Transcript
Finishing well with your walk with God. About five or six years ago, the largest study of discipleship ever conducted was conducted in the U.S. It was called the Reveal Research Project. And they started with an assumption that if a person was faithful in worship, if the person was involved in a small group, and if the person was involved in Christian service, that that person would be growing as a Christian.
What they discovered, talking to hundreds of thousands of Christians, they discovered that those three things, public worship, small group involvement, and involved in an area of ministry or service, those are only predictors of spiritual growth for a young Christian. They are not a predictor of whether or not an older Christian is growing in their relationship with God. What they discovered, the number one thing that determines whether or not a person is growing as a Christian is whether or not they have a personal devotional life, whether or not they're regularly reading scripture, journaling, meditating on the Word of God.
And so the active involvement in our personal devotional life with God is critical to finishing well as a Christian. Second of all, they also discovered the importance of things like mentoring and accountability groups, far more important than small groups were for an older Christian. That if an older Christian is involved in either mentoring or being mentored and they're involved in an accountability group, that is far more impactful to their spiritual well-being than their involvement in small groups.
Although nobody's arguing that small groups are not important. Third of all is periodically being involved in a retreat, going away on a prayer retreat, a silent retreat, a marriage retreat perhaps. Those occasional going away on retreats, getting away from your normal routines, is really really critical to your well-being as a Christian.
And the last one has to do with family discipleship, where mom and dad take responsibility to pour into their kids to read scripture, to pray for them. Having family devotional time is tremendously impactful both to the parents as well as to the kids. And so if you want to finish well, make sure you've got a good devotional life.
It's up to date. Periodically going on retreats to get out of your normal routines to hear from God, making sure that you're either mentoring somebody or being mentored or held accountable by an accountability group. And then if you happen to be married or if you happen to have children, to make sure that you're involved in family discipleship.
Sermon Outline
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I. Importance of Personal Devotional Life
- Regular scripture reading and meditation
- Journaling to deepen relationship with God
- Personal devotion as key to spiritual growth
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II. Role of Mentoring and Accountability
- Mentoring relationships more impactful than small groups for mature Christians
- Accountability groups foster spiritual well-being
- Active involvement in mentoring or being mentored
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III. Value of Retreats
- Periodic retreats break routine and refresh faith
- Types include prayer, silent, and marriage retreats
- Retreats critical for spiritual renewal
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IV. Family Discipleship
- Parents taking responsibility to disciple children
- Family devotional time strengthens faith of all members
- Prayer and scripture reading as family practices
Key Quotes
“The number one thing that determines whether or not a person is growing as a Christian is whether or not they have a personal devotional life.” — Stephen Elliott
“If you want to finish well, make sure you've got a good devotional life.” — Stephen Elliott
“Periodically going on retreats to get out of your normal routines to hear from God is really really critical to your well-being as a Christian.” — Stephen Elliott
Application Points
- Commit to a consistent personal devotional time daily to nurture your relationship with God.
- Engage in mentoring relationships and accountability groups to support your spiritual growth.
- Plan to participate in retreats periodically to refresh and deepen your faith.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most important factor for spiritual growth according to the Reveal Research Project?
A personal devotional life involving regular scripture reading, journaling, and meditation is the top predictor of spiritual growth.
Are small groups not important for spiritual growth?
Small groups are important, especially for younger Christians, but mentoring and accountability groups have greater impact for mature believers.
Why are retreats recommended for believers?
Retreats provide a break from routine, allowing believers to hear from God and refresh their spiritual lives.
How does family discipleship contribute to finishing well?
Family discipleship involves parents actively pouring into their children through scripture and prayer, benefiting the entire family’s spiritual health.
Can mentoring be both giving and receiving?
Yes, mature Christians should be involved in mentoring others as well as being mentored themselves to foster growth.