IT TAKES TIME TO GROW UP IN CHRIST
Sending greetings to you in the name of Jesus:
I wanted to continue to speak to you about this idea of growth in the spirit of God and what that means to the direction of our life. Every Christian is in a continuing education program. The more we know Christ and of his work, the more we are becoming changed to be like him. Because this process is a lifelong process, we must never stop learning and never stop obeying. There isn't any justification for just simply drifting along, but there is an incentive to try the find the rich treasures that there are as we grow in Christ. All of this takes a lot of ongoing practice, review, patience, and concentration to keep in line with God's will. Let me take you back to the book of Colossians 3:5-11 where it says in the word "put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature; sexual morality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these things, the wrath of God is coming. You use to walk in these ways, and the life once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these; anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being renewed in the knowledge in the image of its creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and is in all."
The truth is according to Scripture the church should have no division at all between its people and its doctrine in Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:7 "we now have the sunlight shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves".It's very hard for us to understand the kind of power that God has. If I were to try to imagine myself being in the midst of her strongest earthquake, tallest tsunami, wildest volcano and most devastating hurricane all the same time; I am certain it wouldn't even begin to compare to the power of God.
I have been around in this life 70 years now, and I found myself going through constant change. Just about the time, I think I may have found the key and the answer to even one question in God's mind my spirit is hit with the revelation that tells me I never really had a clue about the whole truth. I don't believe that we will ever be able to understand the mind of God or the ability and power of God until we meet with him face-to-face. Solomon spent his entire life seeking wisdom from every point of view he could find in this world and ironically he ended up calling all of his efforts VANITY.
In Solomon's greatest moments and most brilliant of times he continued to seek after the wisdom of God from the standpoint of the mind of man. It is that very in perfection in our human state that does not allow us to reach the perfection of God. Our growth, therefore, takes a lifetime, understanding will always be like looking through a glass darkly even with our best understanding of his word.
I have found that the best way to grow as a Christian is to submit completely to the power of God's Holy Spirit within me. The only way of understanding God's complete power is to submit to it and allow it to transform the person that I am into the person that God wants for me to be, and that he has created me to be. May you richly bless God through your life in him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
I wanted to continue to speak to you about this idea of growth in the spirit of God and what that means to the direction of our life. Every Christian is in a continuing education program. The more we know Christ and of his work, the more we are becoming changed to be like him. Because this process is a lifelong process, we must never stop learning and never stop obeying. There isn't any justification for just simply drifting along, but there is an incentive to try the find the rich treasures that there are as we grow in Christ. All of this takes a lot of ongoing practice, review, patience, and concentration to keep in line with God's will. Let me take you back to the book of Colossians 3:5-11 where it says in the word "put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature; sexual morality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these things, the wrath of God is coming. You use to walk in these ways, and the life once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these; anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being renewed in the knowledge in the image of its creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and is in all."
The truth is according to Scripture the church should have no division at all between its people and its doctrine in Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:7 "we now have the sunlight shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves".It's very hard for us to understand the kind of power that God has. If I were to try to imagine myself being in the midst of her strongest earthquake, tallest tsunami, wildest volcano and most devastating hurricane all the same time; I am certain it wouldn't even begin to compare to the power of God.
I have been around in this life 70 years now, and I found myself going through constant change. Just about the time, I think I may have found the key and the answer to even one question in God's mind my spirit is hit with the revelation that tells me I never really had a clue about the whole truth. I don't believe that we will ever be able to understand the mind of God or the ability and power of God until we meet with him face-to-face. Solomon spent his entire life seeking wisdom from every point of view he could find in this world and ironically he ended up calling all of his efforts VANITY.
In Solomon's greatest moments and most brilliant of times he continued to seek after the wisdom of God from the standpoint of the mind of man. It is that very in perfection in our human state that does not allow us to reach the perfection of God. Our growth, therefore, takes a lifetime, understanding will always be like looking through a glass darkly even with our best understanding of his word.
I have found that the best way to grow as a Christian is to submit completely to the power of God's Holy Spirit within me. The only way of understanding God's complete power is to submit to it and allow it to transform the person that I am into the person that God wants for me to be, and that he has created me to be. May you richly bless God through your life in him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
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