For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9
Has anyone noticed the spiritual warfare that we are in? There is a clarion call that has gone out and the question is are we, the children of God, the body of Christ prepared for the battle; are we prepared to take our stance against the enemy, be effective in a Godly way and represent God well?
It takes a spiritually mature person to be effective in the battle. Spiritual maturity keeps us in our place. It keeps us aligned with the will of God. We won’t be like Absalom unskilled in the place he found himself in and we won’t be like the young soldier (Ahimaaz); eager to run but with nothing to offer or give when we get there. (2 Samuel 18)
Spiritually mature people know their place. Just as in heaven, not all angels are called to play the harp and sing, some are called for battle. So is it with man. We’re all uniquely positioned, just as the angels are, according to the will of God. The angels are assigned various tasks; not all are called directly to battle like Michael or messengers like Gabriel or to kill like Raphael and neither are we. But whatever area we’re called to, we have to be proficient in that area.
It takes spiritual maturity to enter the arena of spiritual warfare. Spiritual maturity comes about through teaching, testing and training. It takes selah moments of rest, refreshing and instruction. We need this before we can be perfected to the point where we’re now ready to be deployed and used for the purpose God intends.
Spiritual maturity, doesn’t come by maintaining a set of standards. It’s possible for a person to maintain standards that give an outward spiritual appearance yet be carnal; having the appearance of being sweetly saved and cleaned up on the outside but filthy on the inside.
In the midst of these unprecedented times, we find ourselves in, it’s in our selah moments, we’re given time to make sure that we’re spiritually proficient; that we’re spiritually mature; ready to stand against what is to come and not only stand against, but to go forth with our purpose in God. Some of us have been called off the battlefield, some of us have been called in; some are newly inducted . . ., but where ever we find ourself at this point, it’s a time to grow in God. For some of us, it is time to get off the milk and take in the meat!
Just a little recap on spiritual maturity; spiritual maturity doesn’t mean
® advancing
in God's favor,
® It doesn’t
mean the work of salvation is incomplete,
® It most
certainly doesn’t mean that ‘we’ve arrived.’
We can’t think for a moment that it’s our doing when the bible says:
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Ephesians 2:8
® Spiritual maturity doesn’t automatically gain
us access to Heaven, because this was
done through the completed work of the cross; the death
and resurrection of Jesus
Christ.
It’s only through Jesus that we’re justified before God. It’s what the bible tells us:
For all
have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his
grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth
to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness
for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; Romans
3:23-25
So, if it’s not the number of years that we’ve been in Christ and it’s not our works, what makes us spiritually mature? We’re going to get to that. I remember the singer, Mahalia Jackson, sang a song, that says, ‘I found the Answer; I learned to Pray’. She found that the answer to her dilemmas was prayer. Well, I have one good scripture for you that’ll answer that question regarding how to get to spiritual maturity.
Spiritual maturity is a good thing; it advances us in God’s kingdom. Spiritual maturity involves a right personal relationship (willingly submissive and obedient) with God that also includes sincere prayer and a sanctified life. If we’re to lead others in the ways of God, we have to communicate with Him daily and have intimate knowledge of His Word. Let me tell you, we can attend leadership seminars, go to college, and read all kinds of books on leading souls to Christ – and God bless us for that; I’m all for schooling, advanced education, higher education – but, unless we continue to seek the Lord, our ministry based on human intellect alone will fail.
Spiritual maturity doesn’t depend on how we feel emotionally. It doesn’t come automatically through years of believing in Jesus. We know what the bible says:
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. . . James 2:19-20
. . . or by Christian service.
Spiritual maturity comes through an increase in and application of spiritual knowledge.
This increase in knowledge comes by study of God's Word which results in understanding of the processes for spiritual maturity and the statues of God. Personal application of what we learn leads to spiritual maturity through the enabling power of God and His Holy Spirit.
It’s a promise from God that He’ll see us through all that we come against; everything that we are faced with; good and bad as long as we have faith in Him and acknowledge Him. The bible tells us that as long as we are on this journey from earth to heaven, we’re to Place our trust in God; rely on Him completely and never depend upon our own ideas and inventions. We’re to give Him the credit for everything we accomplish. And in doing this, He’ll smooth out and straighten the road that lies before us. Proverbs 3:5-6
We have to always keep the sovereignty of God in mind just because we have a tendency to want to do things the way we want to, when we want to and how we want to. But, the word of God plainly lets us know through various illustrations that God’s intentions are not always ours, He doesn’t go about things as we do. Not only that, His ways are above and beyond ours; just as heaven is far beyond our reach here on earth. Isaiah 55:8-9
It would greatly benefit us to rely upon the wisdom of God; seek His guidance
in all that we do. God lets us know that this is good advice and strongly
encouraged.
We don’t stop when we give our life to God; that’s just the beginning. We must go on to perfection [spiritual maturity]. Initial perfection from sin at the time of salvation is just the start of a progressive life of sanctification. After salvation, we are to live a new life in Christ. Apostle Paul tells us:
I am crucified with Christ: Nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20
So, as I’ve said, spiritual maturity comes from a relationship with God that includes faith, trust, prayer, meditation as well as application of His written Word.
Think about this, Apostle Paul calls the believers "saints" which means "sanctified ones.”
Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their's and our's: 1 Corinthians 1:2
Yet in the same letter he corrects these "saints" because of sin.
Now I
beseech we, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak
the same thing, and that there be no divisions among we; but that ye be
perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it
hath been declared unto me of we, my brethren, by them which are of the house
of Chloe, that there are contentions among we. 1
Corinthians 1:10-11
They were
believers and sanctified in Christ, but some of them were not living right in
their daily conduct. These believers had received the initial step to spiritual
perfection. They were forgiven of their sins through redemption from dead
works. These sins were forgiven once and for all.
This initial step was received at the time they accepted Jesus as Savior. But these believers hadn’t yet achieved spiritual maturity. They hadn’t continued to put off the "old man" of sin:
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. Romans 6:6
Apostle Paul described progressive perfection in his own life:
Not as
though I had already attained, either were already perfect; but I follow after,
if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ
Jesus.
Philippians
3:12
So, we must continuously follow after Jesus. In the natural world, God has provided strategies that open the door for spiritual growth. These strategies help us in our growth in spiritual maturity. When we get to the point that we’re applying these strategies in our life at all times, we’re maintaining our spiritual fitness. So, let’s look at this life scripture:
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5-6
Let's consider this passage and the keys that it contains. The first strategy is:
® Trust
We can’t be fearful of what God may ask of us. Know that His plan for us is best. Certainly, men should be able to trust one who would give His only Son to die for them. Our trust must be in the Lord and not in man.
We get admonishment from the young prophet Jeremiah who spoke the words of God:
Thus saith the Lord, Cursed
be the man that trusteth in man and maketh flesh his arm, and whose
heart departeth from the Lord. Jeremiah
17:5
We can look to King David's whose trust was in God. He said:
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. Psalms 20:7
King David had come to a point in his life, with all that he had gone through, his love/hate relationship with King Saul, all the individual and collective battles that he endured, where he knew that trusting God was his only option after all that he had been through with God at his side.
And not
just King David, we can look at Moses, Paul, Elijah, Job, who, because of their
various experiences, learned to put all of their trust in God.
The second strategy is:
® Lean Not to Our Own
Understanding
How many of us think we know it all or that we have everything under control? You may know more than many, but we’ll never know more than God. That’s why we can’t depend on our own human reasoning. This doesn’t mean there’s no place for intelligent reasoning. The book of Proverbs is filled with instructions to use understanding and common sense. God’s not saying we should abandon rational or sane judgment. But He does admonish us to not depend solely on human reasoning when we’re seeking the will of God.
An excellent account of this is Abraham in his fear that his wife; Sarah’s, beauty would put him in danger when they arrived in Egypt because he might be killed if the king desired his wife for himself. This wasn’t an unrealistic fear, given how ruthless royalty could be in those days. (Genesis 12)
Because it wasn’t God's way to deal in subterfuge – in deceit – and because Abraham had put the Egyptians in danger through no fault of their own and judgment fell, God had to intervene and set things right. Abraham used his own reason regarding the situation he was in and made a decision based on that instead of consulting with God. He not only did not have the thought of God; his way was not the way of God. This is an important principle of guidance: pause and get the instructions from God before we make a move.
To acknowledge God in all ways is to honor Him in thought, word, and deed. Give Him first place in our life: Our life in God is to be of the most importance; far above anything else in our life.
That in all things He might have the preeminence. Colossians 1:18
We can look at Joshua on his journey in maturing with God. You can find one such account in Joshua 9.
A spiritually mature person doesn’t get caught up in the number of victories, doesn’t think they have ‘arrived’ because of their victories. They know that the victories were all gained because of and through God. So what do we learn from this lesson – the very fact that strangers had come into the camp; red flags should have went up. The sob story and pleas for an alliance should have immediately called for a consultation with God. A spiritually mature person is not easily deceived by the slights of the enemy; not through his words or his deeds.
But, because he didn’t consult with God, his decision resulted in an alliance with an ungodly nation, something which was forbidden by God. Joshua 9
So, we’re back to the question, how do we gain spiritual maturity?
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. . .
Lean not to thine own understanding. . .
In all thy ways acknowledge Him . . .
Learn and apply this scripture. It leads to experience which grows us in God which in turn leads us to spiritual maturity which then allows us to be effective in spiritual warfare.
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