Find and Take Your Next Step Toward Christ

Devotional

Day 1: Bamboo Roots in the Fifth Year

Growth often hides beneath life’s surface. Just as bamboo spends years developing roots before shooting upward, spiritual growth works silently through seasons of faithfulness. What feels like stagnation may actually be God strengthening your foundation. Trust the process of becoming. The most important step isn’t the visible one—it’s the daily choice to water what God planted. [01:05:52]

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. (2 Peter 1:3, NIV)

Reflection: Where have you assumed “nothing’s happening” in your spiritual life? How might God be growing roots beneath your current struggles or routines?

Day 2: The Grocery List of Godliness

Faith is the starter ingredient, but Peter insists we “add” goodness, knowledge, self-control, and more. This isn’t a passive recipe—it’s a conscious effort to stock our lives with Christlike qualities. Like gathering groceries for a meal, each choice prepares us to nourish others. What’s missing from your pantry? [56:03]

Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness. (2 Peter 1:5-6, NIV)

Reflection: Which “ingredient” from Peter’s list feels hardest to reach for today? What’s one practical action that could help you “stock up”?

Day 3: Dad Jokes and Divine Endurance

Playfulness strengthens bonds, just as perseverance deepens faith. The same consistency behind terrible puns—repeated, enduring, hopeful—mirrors the persistence required in spiritual growth. God honors small, stubborn acts of faithfulness more than flashy moments of perfection. [39:51]

Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. (Hebrews 12:1-2, NIV)

Reflection: Where have you been waiting for “big growth” instead of celebrating daily faithfulness? How could playfulness soften your pursuit of holiness?

Day 4: The Mirror of Uselessness

Peter warns that avoiding spiritual growth makes us “ineffective”—like unused tools gathering dust. God’s gifts aren’t trophies to display, but instruments to wield. Every act of love, every resisted temptation, every truth learned polishes our purpose. [01:04:51]

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. (James 1:22-24, NIV)

Reflection: What God-given “tool” have you left dormant? How could using it today bless someone else?

Day 5: The Next Step Is the Main Thing

Spiritual journeys aren’t measured in miles but in footsteps. What seems like a small obedience—a prayer whispered, a grudge released, a truth applied—carries eternal weight. Your next step isn’t a prelude to real faith—it’s the heartbeat of a persistent pursuit. [01:14:08]

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. (Philippians 3:12-13, NIV)

Reflection: What “next step” have you been overcomplicating? How can you take it today in the strength God already provided?

Sermon Summary

Peter sets the table by pushing back on the Gnostic shortcut that treats the material world as throwaway and holiness as optional. The text insists life now matters. God’s divine power has given everything needed for a godly life through the glory and goodness seen in Jesus and carried forward by the Spirit. God’s reputation, presence, and moral excellence are not distant ideas. They are gifts that equip real people for real obedience.

God’s provision then meets human participation. Peter refuses passivity. He charges believers to make every effort to add to God-given faith a family of virtues that looks like God: goodness, then knowledge, then self control, then perseverance, then godliness, then mutual affection, then love. The order matters. Character goes to work first, and deeper knowledge grows inside that pursuit. Knowledge then trains self control. Self control hardens into endurance over time, not overnight. Godliness matures into warm brotherly affection, and affection stretches into agape, the self giving love that puts another first.

The list is not a checkbox. The text calls for these qualities in increasing measure. Contentment with minimal change leaves a person ineffective and unfruitful. Stagnation is not neutral space. According to Peter, the person either grows into fruitfulness or withers. Yet the work of growth often hides beneath the surface. Like bamboo that seems stalled for years and then surges upward, grace may be building unseen root systems. So harsh judgment toward others or toward oneself misses what God may be quietly doing.

The text warns that refusing this pursuit is willful forgetting. That forgetfulness is not a memory glitch. It is a blind choice to ignore that Jesus has cleansed from past sins and saved people not only from death, but for life with God. Peter ties perseverance in these qualities to assurance. Confirming calling and election does not mean informing God. It means walking in a Spirit powered life that steadies the heart. The promise is not sinless perfection, but no final collapse. The Christian keeps getting up, helped by grace, until a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom.

So the call lands simply. Becoming like Jesus is not passive. It is a persistent pursuit. The most important step is the next one. Take it.

Key Takeaways

1. God supplies everything for godliness [48:41] God’s glory and goodness in Jesus are not just inspiring. They are provision. The Spirit unites a person to Christ and gives real capacity to reflect God’s character now. Excuses fade when the text says everything needed has already been given. [48:41]
2. Growth requires persistent participation [43:13] Grace does not cancel effort. It empowers it. “Make every effort” assumes responsibility, not to earn salvation, but to cooperate with it. Faith grows as goodness, knowledge, self control, endurance, godliness, affection, and love are actively pursued. [43:13]
3. Hidden seasons still form deep roots [01:05:52] Bamboo faith looks stalled for years while the rootwork goes deep. Unseen does not mean untrue. Quiet obedience, resisted temptations, prayed psalms, and small mercies are subterranean grace that will surface in due time. [65:52]
4. The next step secures the path [01:14:08] The next obedient act matters more than replaying the first decision. Assurance strengthens as practiced holiness meets promised grace. One concrete step reshapes desire, confirms calling, and keeps a person from becoming unfruitful. [74:08]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[36:36] - Father’s Day and dad jokes
[40:29] - Core values as a filter
[41:41] - People who find next steps
[43:13] - Becoming like Jesus is pursuit
[44:21] - 2 Peter 1 background
[46:15] - Gnostic shortcut exposed
[48:41] - God’s provision for godly life
[57:34] - Add these to your faith
[63:19] - Increasing measure, real fruit
[65:52] - Bamboo and hidden growth
[71:18] - Eternal prize and assurance
[74:08] - The next step is the key
[78:30] - Closing prayer

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
2 Peter 1:3-11 (ESV)
3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Observation Questions

What specific qualities does Peter list in verses 5-7, and why might the order matter?
According to verse 8, what happens when these qualities grow "in increasing measure"?
How does the sermon describe the relationship between God’s provision and human participation in spiritual growth? [56:30]
What analogy does the sermon use to explain hidden spiritual growth? [01:05:52]

Interpretation Questions

Why does Peter emphasize that these qualities must be present "in increasing measure" (v. 8) rather than as a checklist? How does this challenge complacency?
What does it mean to "confirm your calling and election" (v. 10) in practical terms? How does this relate to assurance of salvation?
The sermon warns that stagnation is not neutral but leads to spiritual death. How does 2 Peter 1:9 support this idea?
How does the analogy of bamboo growth [01:05:52] reframe our understanding of seasons where progress seems invisible?

Application Questions

Which of the qualities in 2 Peter 1:5-7 feels most challenging to grow in right now? What small, daily effort could be made to cultivate it?
The sermon emphasizes that "the next step is the key" [01:14:08]. What is one concrete, immediate step you can take this week to pursue growth in godliness?
How might judging others (or yourself) for apparent lack of spiritual progress hinder recognizing God’s hidden work? What would it look like to replace judgment with patience?
The text warns against "forgetting" cleansing from sin (v. 9). What habits or practices could help you actively remember God’s grace when facing temptation?
In what area of life do you feel spiritually stagnant? How could you intentionally "make every effort" (v. 5) there, even if results aren’t visible yet?
How does the promise of a "rich welcome" (v. 11) into God’s kingdom motivate perseverance in pursuing holiness today?

Sermon Clips

56s

#GloryThroughJesus

“And so he's basically saying that that God's glory, God's presence and reputation, and his goodness, his character have been seen in Jesus when he came to live among us. He he came to live among us to live a perfect life. He provided a sacrifice for our sins and reconciled our relationship with God. And so Peter is saying, look, he's saying, like, knowing God, like knowing that God has called us in this way, this is how God gives us faith in life. He also prays in those first couple verses. He he prays that God would give us grace and peace, not only through the person and work of Jesus, but there's also some other insinuations here as well. But also, not only through Jesus, but through the Holy Spirit's continued presence in our lives.”

53s

#SecureInChrist

“See, when you're becoming more like Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit in your life, you can be sure of your eternal security. Yes, being more like Jesus that that is about this life, but this life extends into eternity. That physical death is not the end. And so Peter is offering reassurance. Say, hey, if you are participating in your spiritual growth, that God has given you everything you need through Jesus, you you believe the gospel, you you have submitted your life to him, you have everything you need to pursue this godly life. And there's reward. There's a reward. Physical death is is not the end.”

49s

#NeverLeftBehind

“He talks about in there about it it'll help you to to never stumble. That doesn't mean that you're never going to sin. Don't hear it that way. But it does carry the connotation of you're never going to stumble and not get back up again. That that, yes, in life, you are going to sin again. It's not about being perfect, but you will never stumble and get left behind. You're you're never gonna have this this catastrophic collapse that you cannot recover from through the work of God in your life. But again, it takes effort. It takes your participation with God. Becoming like Jesus is not passive. It is a persistent pursuit. And so as followers of Jesus, we always look forward in our walk with God.”

68s

#SavedForLife

“See, when we don't make every effort to become more like Jesus, it's because we are willfully forgetting that we have been cleansed from sin. When we don't make every effort to become more like Jesus, it's it's not just that we're forgetting in some mental sense, it's that we don't practically remember what Jesus has done for us. It is kind of forgetting in in the sense of like failing to take into account the true meaning or the true significance of what has God has done by cleansing us from our past sins. Because the reality is is we're not just from sin and death, we are saved for life with God. It's not just about getting you know, stopping being bad. It's about God has a good life that he is calling us to live with him, and he is calling us towards that. Which leads us to the last thing we need to realize about living that that Christian life. The last thing we need to realize about becoming more like Jesus. It is that we said that God has provided everything we need to be able to do it, and so there's no excuses.”

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Find and Take Your Next Step Toward Christ

Devotional

Day 1: Bamboo Roots in the Fifth Year

Day 2: The Grocery List of Godliness

Day 3: Dad Jokes and Divine Endurance

Day 4: The Mirror of Uselessness

Day 5: The Next Step Is the Main Thing

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Find and Take Your Next Step Toward Christ

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