Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation (Acts 2:37–40, KJV).

Jesus had given the Apostle Peter the keys to the kingdom, and had said the salvation message would be preached starting at Jerusalem. When Peter got up on the Day of Pentecost, he preached the salvation message found in Acts 2:37–40.

But, Peter preached more than the Salvation message that day. He told the world that Jesus was the Messiah and that He was alive. It was in Jesus Christ that we would see salvation (I Thessalonians 5:9). When the people heard this message, they were convicted about what they had heard. They knew they could not hear the message of Calvary and do nothing with it. It was then Peter gave instruction as to the 3 steps they would need to follow.

Repentance

Repentance can happen in a moment once we realize the heart of God toward our sin. God is saddened by our sin every time that we fail, every time we miss the mark and fall short of God’s expectations. Repentance is an inward change of mind that will change our outward directions and actions. When we have godly sorrow about our sins, this will produce repentance in us (II Corinthians 7:10).

Baptism in Jesus’ Name

There is only 1 way to be baptized found all through the Scriptures—in the name of Jesus. We are baptized for the remission of our sins, evoking the work of Calvary. When we’re baptized, all of our sins ever committed are remitted as far as the east is from the west. The blood of Jesus washes our slate clean from all of our sins. We’re buried with Jesus through baptism so we can be raised up and walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4).

Receipt of the Holy Ghost

The Holy Ghost is hard to measure, explain, and imagine because we operate in a finite world. But, God and His presence are infinite. We cannot dismiss anything that we cannot comprehend or explain; we must embrace the supernatural move the Lord wants to pour out in our life. Once the Holy Ghost comes upon us we will speak with new tongues in a language only understood by our Creator. This is the one thing we cannot do in life—if we had the ability to organize or orchestrate it, we’d mess it up. This is why it’s known as the supernatural! To complete our salvation experience, we must be filled with His precious presence!

A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps (Proverbs 16:9, KJV).

Every decision we make will affect the rest of our lives. Due to human nature, we cannot make the right decisions. But, God never intended for us to make any decision alone—He has provided the answer to every question in His Word.

Scripture tells us not to lean to our own understanding, but to seek the Lord for guidance in the paths we walk upon (Proverbs 3:5–6). But, humans desire to have control; we want to make our own decisions. We need to trust God and not follow after a rebellious spirit where we seek to make our own decisions and be in charge.

We need to open ourselves up to the Lord and allow Him to direct us. We need to follow His steps, His direction, and have a mind that’s committed to doing what God has shown us. God did not create humans with the ability to know the right way (Jeremiah 10:23). If we follow God and His plan, we’ll see the right outcomes, and see something perfect and complete.

Scripture tells us the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord (Psalms 37:23). God will bring us out of any situation and set us upon a firm foundation (Psalms 40:2). If we are obedient to follow Him and take the first step, He’ll enlarge our steps and help us cover more ground (Psalms 18:36). Today, our prayer needs to be that God orders our steps in His Word so we never fall (Psalms 119:133).

King David made the wrong decisions in his life when he got frustrated with waiting on God and following His process (I Samuel 27:1). But, in his frustration, the enemy crept in. The loss of everything in his life was the wake-up call he needed to turn back to God and ask Him to order his steps. David needed to find the strategic steps God had for his life again.

He Believed that God Could

David started remembering everything that God had done for Him in the past. It was God’s favor in David’s life that reminded him God could do the impossible; there wasn’t anything that God couldn’t do. He was able to encourage himself with what God had done to move forward in Him (I Samuel 30:6). Just like David, when we face impossible situations in our life, we must remember God will always be there for us and provide an answer and the right direction.

He Sought God’s Direction

After remember that God was able, he went to the Lord for his next step. David asked for those to bring him the ephod, and he asked if he should go after the enemy (I Samuel 30:7). Like David, we can’t make decisions on our own. If we’re going to succeed, and have the right outcome, we need to ask God what to do. Determining God’s will should be our number one priority (James 4:15).

He Did What God Said to Do

God had an answer, a step, when David asked. God told David to pursue the enemy. When David and his army came upon them, they were able to recover all that was previously lost (I Samuel 30:18). When we are obedient and trust God, there’s a miracle in store for us. All we have to do is follow God’s strategic steps.

And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem…And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD (II Samuel 11:1, 27, KJV).

Side Step

In our walk with the Lord, we’re commanded to move where He tells us to move, but more importantly, to move forward in Him. But, because we’re human, we have a tendency to make lateral moves—side steps—in our walk with God. The Lord will tell us one thing, but when we start to question, or doubt the plan of God, we pause. The moment we hesitate in God, we’ve made a side step in our journey. When we doubt God, we give place to the devil to come into our lives and influence us to take action contrary to the Word.

King David was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). He had retrieved the Ark from the enemy, won many battles, and had God’s favor. But, one day he decided to take the day off. He didn’t move forward; he didn’t take the step God wanted Him to take. And, the moment he did, the enemy crept in.

3 Aspects of David’s Side Step

Action

Just because we’re not doing something, doesn’t mean we’re not doing something. Failure to take action for the Kingdom of God will be an action for the kingdom of flesh. When we’re not working for the Lord, we’re working against Him.

King David was called to be a leader of the people and to partake in battle. But, instead of taking action, he sent Joab. He did not fulfill his kingly duty appointed by God. Scripture tells us the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord (Psalms 37:23). If we don’t follow God’s steps, we’re being disobedient.

David felt that in all of his works, he deserved a day off—a hiatus from his kingly duties, a vacation from God. But, in his “break,” and “I deserve it” mentality, he took a side step away from the righteous king he had been. Our side steps in God are not just “side steps”—they move us in a direction backward, away from God. God wants us to fulfill His will and to be faithful every day. Our one moments can impact us for a lifetime.

Getting Others Involved

When David decided to take a side step, he didn’t take it alone. He brought other people into his mishap—he sent Joab to battle, another servant to glean information about Bathsheba, and then engaged Bathsheba in an adulterous act.

When we side step in God’s kingdom, how many people do we truly impact? How many souls will we miss because we’re taking a day off? How many other people will have to pick up our slack because we aren’t pulling our weight in the body of Christ? We must remember our side step doesn’t just impact us and it doesn’t just last for a moment.

The Cover Up

Our human nature encourages us to try to cover up our sin. Adam and Eve were the first to do this in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:7–8). But, we can’t fool God for He is always present and knows all things. Instead of fooling God, we fool ourselves.

David tried to call Bathsheba’s husband home from battle to cover up his adulterous act, but when this plan failed, he tried to cover up his sin again. This time, his cover up led to the death of a man. David’s sin—his side step—turned from not only his initial disobedience, but to adultery, and then to murder. We can’t cover up our sins today, but confess them and repent. There is no other way to turn our life around, to get back on track, and to get right with the Lord.

Choose Grace

Today, we need to open our entire heart to God and repent when we take a side step. We need God’s presence to intervene in our lives and help us get back on track—back on the path ordered by the Lord.

Without grace, David wouldn’t be the man that he ended up being; we’d only know him for his side step. But, God sent a prophet to tell him what he’d done wrong, and David repented for his sins. If we seek after the Lord, God will reveal to us what we need to change and cover us with His grace. Let’s not take a side step today, but take a step with God, and step forward in Him.

And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me. And he left all, rose up, and followed him (Luke 5:27–28, KJV).

Jesus didn’t ask for much from His disciples. He asked for something small—for them to follow Him. Once the disciples took their first step, they embarked on a journey with a Lord that would change their life forever.

Many of us today can look at the life of Jesus, or the life of the disciples, and think we could never measure up to what they’ve accomplished; that we can’t do anything great in the kingdom of God. But, all He asks is that we be obedient, have faith, and take a small step.

Matthew 17:20 tells us that if we have faith as a grain of mustard seed, we can tell any mountain to get out of the way, and it will be moved—nothing shall be impossible for us. It doesn’t matter what we look like, our size, or shape, all that matters is the size of the faith inside of us to do something for the Lord!

In Scripture, Peter, James, John, and Levi all got up and followed Jesus. They took a small first step to move forward in their relationship with God. Because they moved—even a little bit—God used them mightily in His kingdom. God can take our small effort and do something great with it. God specializes in turning nothing into something; turning something small into something powerful.

The mustard seed is the smallest of all the seeds, but the largest plant (Matthew 13:32). If we’re willing to start—even starting out small—we can have a large impact in God’s kingdom. All we have to do is take the first step.

And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish (Luke 14:27–30, KJV).

We’ve entered another year, and most people are enthralled with the ideal of making New Year’s Resolutions. However, research shows only 8% of people actually follow through with their resolutions, while the rest don’t even start or continue with them.

In our Scripture setting, Jesus stressed the importance of follow-through and gives strategic advice to be successful in whatever we set out to do. Jesus’s directions are simple to starting any project: stop, think it through, plan, and expect obstacles. But, He also noted how we should think about the end before we actually start. Our question today is, what is the end goal? Is this our decision, or should we be receiving direction elsewhere? Before we start any work, we need to seek after God’s plan, His counsel, and not our own desires (Psalms 37:23).

The Risk of Not Beginning with the End

When we don’t consider the end, we can’t complete what we start, and we waste resources. We end up having regrets about what we could have done. We also are labeled as a quitter—and that’s something no one likes to be called. We all have an innate desire within us to never give up because we worship a God who completes what He starts (Philippians 1:6)!

How to Begin with the End

Begin at the End by Working Hard

We don’t like to work because we’re all lazy, but a little hard work never hurt anyone! Working hard is a godly principle—hard work pays off (Proverbs 21:5), and we will have prepared for our future (Proverbs 6:6–8). Jesus told His disciples that He must work while it was still day (John 9:4); He had to move forward and continue to advance God’s kingdom. We need to follow His example and work and we will reap the rewards.

Begin at the End by Learning Along the Way

We learn through wisdom—and through wisdom we glean knowledge (Proverbs 24:3–4). We cannot attempt to complete any task without wisdom and knowledge. If we lack any wisdom, we can ask God and He will give it to us (James 1:5). We must never stop learning in the natural and spiritual areas in our life. Our daily plight should be to seek after wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Knowledge will unlock God’s favor and blessing in our life and help us succeed in Him.

Begin at the End by Taking Care of What Takes Care of Us

Scripture encourages us to take care of work first and then everything else that follows (Proverbs 24:27). It’s easy to think we’re overwhelmed and don’t have time for work, but we must be careful what we think our focus should be. We cannot cut things out that have substance, things that will sustain us in this life—or anything that God expects for us to maintain while living on this earth. No matter what we think, we cannot live without prayer, the Word, and the presence of the Lord! We need to learn to prioritize and start with the things that are the foundation of our eternal home.

Begin at the End by Getting God Involved Now

God’s end for us is not failure but victory, triumph, and blessing! God knows the plans He has for us (Jeremiah 29:11)—if we commit our work to the Lord, He will establish everything we do (Proverbs 16:3). We need to start out the New Year with more than just praise to God, but an investment in Him and submission to let God be Lord over every part of our life. Our life is like a vapor, so we need to go to do what God asks of us (James 4:13–15). It is not the time to be unwise, but to understand who the Lord is and what He wants for us to do (Ephesians 5:17).