Stand Still and Walk! – Part 1
But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.” [Exodus 14:13-14]
It is a commonplace in today’s churches to hie off to the nearest Christian bookstore in search of spiritual secrets. The latest fad book on “How to Make Your Church Grow from Seven Souls to Seven Thousand Overnight” is one of the best sellers. When we follow such an approach, we turn the church into a worldly organization. Truth be told, the Church is a spiritual organism, the Body of Christ on earth today.
There are no shortcuts in natural life, dear friends. To create a mature adult several steps need to take place, each of which takes years to blossom. Let’s itemize some of them:
1. consummation of a marriage
2. carrying to term
3. giving birth
4. baby years
5. toddler years
6. preschool years
7. elementary school years
8. high school years
9. college/trade school/apprenticeship years
10. young working adult years
11. middle age years
12. golden oldies years
The list is not all-inclusive to be sure, but it suffices to express the stages of natural life.
The same is true in spiritual life. Unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God [John 3:3]. So in the spiritual life we also need points 1-3: consummation of a marriage, carrying to term, and giving birth.
A simple cursory glance at both Old and New Testaments reveals the Lord’s will for His people to become educated in the Word of God. Strict directions are given for parents to rear their children in the things of God, both by teaching them the Bible and by setting a Biblical example of Christian living for them. So in the spiritual life we also need points 4-9.
In 1 John 2:12-14 the Apostle John identifies three ages of spiritual maturity. He addresses the “little children” and the “young men” and the “fathers”. When we understand that John is writing spiritual truth to these folks, then we know to interpret these terms spiritually, i.e., as pertaining to spiritual life. So in the spiritual life we also need points 10-12.
Here’s the moral to this story, dear people. In the natural life things are not the same for each person. Your course in life and your natural gifts and abilities are not mine or your neighbors or your sisters. And what is applicable to you today might not be so in twenty years or twenty days or twenty minutes.
The same is true in the spiritual life too. How one person came to know the Lord is not the way everybody must come to know the Lord. What books and teachings attract one Christian is not what will appeal to another. What ministry I have is not the ministry you are supposed to have. There is no one-size-fits-all in spiritual life.
For that matter what is apposite for me today in ministry might very well not be tomorrow. I used to have a pulpit ministry: now I have a writing ministry. The Lord wants to rear us to walk by faith, which requires constant dependence on Him, not a predetermined plan on our part of what will be.
Until we get a handle on this spiritual truth that the Church is a spiritual organism and not a worldly organization, we will never accomplish for Christ anything to write home about. We need to study 1 Corinthians 12-14 until we thoroughly understand this.
Do you see how this affects Christian fad books about how to grow the church? What worked in one case is not a blueprint for every church—or perhaps even for any other church. Programs, fads, gadgets and gimmicks—suchlike gewgaws are not the work of a spiritual organism. They are the baubles of a worldly organization. They only serve to attract folks on the natural level, not the spiritual.
We will pursue this issue further in our next lesson. Spend some time alone with our blessed Lord now, why don’cha.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
It is a commonplace in today’s churches to hie off to the nearest Christian bookstore in search of spiritual secrets. The latest fad book on “How to Make Your Church Grow from Seven Souls to Seven Thousand Overnight” is one of the best sellers. When we follow such an approach, we turn the church into a worldly organization. Truth be told, the Church is a spiritual organism, the Body of Christ on earth today.
There are no shortcuts in natural life, dear friends. To create a mature adult several steps need to take place, each of which takes years to blossom. Let’s itemize some of them:
1. consummation of a marriage
2. carrying to term
3. giving birth
4. baby years
5. toddler years
6. preschool years
7. elementary school years
8. high school years
9. college/trade school/apprenticeship years
10. young working adult years
11. middle age years
12. golden oldies years
The list is not all-inclusive to be sure, but it suffices to express the stages of natural life.
The same is true in spiritual life. Unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God [John 3:3]. So in the spiritual life we also need points 1-3: consummation of a marriage, carrying to term, and giving birth.
A simple cursory glance at both Old and New Testaments reveals the Lord’s will for His people to become educated in the Word of God. Strict directions are given for parents to rear their children in the things of God, both by teaching them the Bible and by setting a Biblical example of Christian living for them. So in the spiritual life we also need points 4-9.
In 1 John 2:12-14 the Apostle John identifies three ages of spiritual maturity. He addresses the “little children” and the “young men” and the “fathers”. When we understand that John is writing spiritual truth to these folks, then we know to interpret these terms spiritually, i.e., as pertaining to spiritual life. So in the spiritual life we also need points 10-12.
Here’s the moral to this story, dear people. In the natural life things are not the same for each person. Your course in life and your natural gifts and abilities are not mine or your neighbors or your sisters. And what is applicable to you today might not be so in twenty years or twenty days or twenty minutes.
The same is true in the spiritual life too. How one person came to know the Lord is not the way everybody must come to know the Lord. What books and teachings attract one Christian is not what will appeal to another. What ministry I have is not the ministry you are supposed to have. There is no one-size-fits-all in spiritual life.
For that matter what is apposite for me today in ministry might very well not be tomorrow. I used to have a pulpit ministry: now I have a writing ministry. The Lord wants to rear us to walk by faith, which requires constant dependence on Him, not a predetermined plan on our part of what will be.
Until we get a handle on this spiritual truth that the Church is a spiritual organism and not a worldly organization, we will never accomplish for Christ anything to write home about. We need to study 1 Corinthians 12-14 until we thoroughly understand this.
Do you see how this affects Christian fad books about how to grow the church? What worked in one case is not a blueprint for every church—or perhaps even for any other church. Programs, fads, gadgets and gimmicks—suchlike gewgaws are not the work of a spiritual organism. They are the baubles of a worldly organization. They only serve to attract folks on the natural level, not the spiritual.
We will pursue this issue further in our next lesson. Spend some time alone with our blessed Lord now, why don’cha.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
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