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| home :: archive :: 04.08.26. |
26 August 2004 Who is ResponsibleWho is responsible for your knowing God?Who is responsible for raising our children in the things of God? Who is responsible for your becoming mature in the things of God? "My grandmother is responsible for my..." "My pastor is responsible for my..." "I am responsible for my..." You are responsible for you! You cannot blame anything on someone else. You are responsible for you. You are responsible for your life. You choose and decide how your life will be. You cannot blame anyone for your success or failure. You cannot blame anyone for your failure to grow in the things of God. We have excuses of why we don't grow and mature in the things of God. For example: "I have not been a Christian long enough!" Maturity in the things of god has nothing to do with years. You must stop looking at the problems in your life, and begin searching for the solutions. Problems will create problems. Problems will make things look worse than they really are. Problems create insecurity in the life of the believer. But God has a solution to every problem! It is our responsibility to look for that solution, instead of dwelling on the problem. We are now alive in Christ - but how do we grow? 1. Prayerful obedienceJames 1:4-3You know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Relationship brings maturity in the things of God. 2. The revealed will of GodCol 4:12"Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured." What is the matter of this prayer? That you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. We should earnestly desire both for ourselves and others to stand perfect and complete in the will of God. We must stand complete in all the will of God; In the will of his truth with complete obedience. In the will of his divine guidance with cheerful submission to it: We stand perfect and complete when we stand in obedience and are submitted to his guidance. The will of God is instructions to you from god, to show you his plan for your life. You must pray to know God's will for your life. 3. Seeing God more and other people lessEph 4:11-16Some of us have been given special ability as apostles; To others he has given the gift of being able to preach well; Some have special ability in winning people to Christ, To others He has given the gift of helping them to trust him as their savior; Still others have a gift for caring for God's people as a shepherd does his sheep, Leading and teaching them in the ways of God. Why is it that he gives us these special abilities to do certain things best? It is that God's people will be equipped to do better work for him. It is God's people who will build up the church to a position of strength and maturity. We all believe alike about our salvation and about our savior. We must all become full-grown in the Lord - Yes, to the point of being filled full with Christ. Then we will no longer be like children. We must not forever be changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different. Or has cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth. Instead, we will lovingly follow the truth at all times -
Under his direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly. Each part in its own special way helps the other parts, So that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. You can't hide from God and grow spiritually!!! One way the enemy attempts to draw us away from trusting God and stop your spiritual growth: Is by perverting our perception of God's character. He did this in the garden with Eve when he asked her: "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" (Gen. 3:1). He twisted God's commandment in order to attack and distort His character. Gen. 2:16-17 God had said, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die". In essence the serpent was saying to Eve, "God is withholding everything good from you." But God's emphasis was, "You may freely eat, except." God had given mankind the entire garden to enjoy. All the fruit to eat with the exception of one. The serpent was twisting how the woman saw God. "God doesn't really care for you." "What good thing is He keeping back from you?" "He must not love you as you thought. He must not be a good God!" She was deceived and believed a lie about God's character. The desire to sin was then aroused because God's word was no longer life but law. And "the strength of sin is the law" (I Cor. 15:56). The enemy still operates this way today. He perverts the character of the Father God in His children's eyes. We have all had authorities over us. Such as dads, teachers, bosses or governors who have been selfish and unloving. And because they are authority figures, It is easy to extend their nature onto God's character. For He is the ultimate authority. The enemy has distorted the character of the Father. By perverting our view of our earthly fathers. His character or nature will be seen in His leaders. God's character will be a catalyst for healing. When you know God would never do anything to harm or destroy you, Then you will give yourself freely to Him. Realize that whatever God does or does not do in your life is in your best interest. Then you will gladly be one to lay down your life for the Master. If you have given yourself totally to Jesus and are committed to His care, You cannot be offended because you are not your own, or you cannot do whatever you want. Those who are hurt and disappointed are those who have come to Jesus. Come to Jesus for what He can do for you, not because of who He is. When we have that attitude we are easily disappointed. Self-centeredness causes us to be shortsighted. We are unable to view our immediate circumstances through the eye of faith. Our lives must be truly lost in Jesus. We must know His character and share His joy. Then we cannot be shaken or shipwrecked. It is easy to become offended when we judge by our natural surroundings and circumstances. This is not seeing through the eye of the Spirit. Often God does not answer me in the manner or amount of time I feel is absolutely necessary. But as I look back at every case I understand and can see His wisdom. Occasionally our children do not understand our methods or the logic behind their training. We try to give explanations to the older children so they can benefit from the wisdom. But at times they may not understand or agree because of their immaturity; Or perhaps the reason is to test their obedience, love and maturity. It is the same with our Father in heaven. In these situations faith says, "I trust You even though I don't understand." We are rooted and grounded when we bear this intense love and trust in God. No storm, no matter how intense, can ever move us. This does not come by strong will or personality. It is a gift of grace to all who place their confidence in God. It is throwing away the confidence of self. It is to give yourself in total abandonment. You must know the One who holds your life. Grace Is Given to the Humble Simon Peter could no longer boast of being great. He had lost his natural confidence. He saw all too clearly the futility of his own strong will. He had been humbled. He was now a perfect candidate for the grace of God. God gives His grace to the humble. Humility is a necessary and required for the Kingdom of God. It was a lesson burned in the conscience of Peter. 1 Pet. 5:5 "Be clothed with humility, for 'God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble'. " Trials in this life will expose what is in your heart. Whether an offense is toward God or others. Tests either make you bitter toward God and your peers or stronger. Establish your roots deeper, stabilizing you and your future. If you fail, you become offended. Offense leads to defilement with bitterness. Offenses will reveal the weakness and breaking points in our lives. Often the point where we think we are strong is our place of hidden weakness. It will remain hidden until a powerful storm blows away the cover. "For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh" (Phil. 3:3). We can do nothing of eternal value in our own ability. Dale Boehs 26 August 2004 to load the version for print |
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