Category Archives: Spiritual Maturity

Gripped By God’s Greatness

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-Satan Always Offers A Counterfeit

When Adam & Eve chose to listen to the wisdom of a talking snake shortly after taking their 1st  breath—air, compliments of their Creator God, by the way—the result was more than just a severed relationship with God. It was more than getting kicked out of paradise. What the serpent offered them, in exchange for their soul, was individual sovereignty;—or, “god likeness”—without the Power of God! The Power of God, necessary to carry out individual sovereignty, was NOT the serpent’s to give! So, they chose to accept Satan’s counterfeit offer “to be LIKE god”; but, without the “Power of God” all they could make was a decision to disobey.

-Our False Sense Of Individual Sovereignty

So, that decision to “be like god” was hard-wired into every individual through Adam & Eve’s original sin.  We’re all born into the world “acting” like we believe we’re “God”; and, growing up with this false sense of “individual sovereignty” without the “Power Of God” to back it up! The result is what some people call a “god complex”—it’s in our DNA. We’re self-deluded from birth! We’re arrogant! We think we’re infallible! We seek to control our environment from the moment we’re aware of it! It doesn’t help that we have parents; or, other people in our lives, who say silly things to us like: “You can do anything you put your mind to!” Really?

-You Can Do Anything You Put Your Mind To! Really?

So, I started putting my mind to it—I was going to be 6’ tall and play basketball in the NBA! I was going to be valedictorian in my class! I was going to become independently wealthy! Guess what! I’ve never been any of those things! It’s not until God lets us “crash & burn” a few times that we begin to realize we’ve been duped; and, with the Holy Spirit’s help, the Gospel begins to make sense to us! Hey! We’re NOT in control! We’re out of control! We’re broken; and, we need a Savior because we can’t save ourselves! Jesus became that Savior through His work on the cross! And, He saves us from ourselves—from our “god complex”! Then the Holy Spirit moves in & begins to “reprogram” us; so, we start to look more like Jesus! Let us be gripped, Church, by the greatness of our God!

-Above And Beyond

In Ephesians 3:20, the Apostle Paul encouraged the Church of Ephesus with these words: “Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us.” God can do more than we could ever ask or think because His Spirit indwells us! It’s not about US! It’s about the BIG GOD who indwells us! That’s where the power is! If our ministry is not about Him & His glory our efforts are futile! “Self-Reliance” is such a subtle sin! It constantly slips into our ministry efforts! Let us humble ourselves before Him—“He must increase; and, I must decrease!”  Dear God…bring Revival!

Growing Up Spiritually In Community

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While The World Obsesses Over The “Self”

We’ve often pointed out that the world generally obsesses over the “self”;  while, God—in the Scriptures—directs us to be “God-focused” and “others-focused”! Unfortunately, this “self-centeredness” has trickled down into our churches; so, that, even our spiritual growth is seen as something accomplished as an “individual.” The community of faith is recognized as “supplemental”, not “essential”, to our spiritual growth. We believe the Scriptures debunk that individualistic mindset.

Build Up The Body

God uses our local church—our faith community—to grow us “at a deeper & more intimate level than can be accomplished alone.” Paul often reminded the local churches (as he did the Church of Ephesus in ch.4:11-16) that they were to function as a “body” functions; not as a group of self-centered, self-absorbed individuals! The “work of the ministry” was to “build up the BODY”, he said. The spiritual growth God intends to accomplish, in us individually, happens in the context of the local church body—it’s NOT that we don’t grow as “individuals”; we do! But that growth comes in our interaction with other believers!

Isolation Welcomes Spiritual Defeat

When we live an isolated life on the outside of the church we live as though we are autonomous! Only God, however, is truly autonomous! He answers to no one! We, however, will ultimately give account to God for our lives; and, He has devised the Church body to keep us accountable! It’s His plan that by holding ourselves accountable to other believers we will be stretched & matured so that we might hear a “Well done good & faithful servant” when we stand before Him! We are called to “Bear one another’s burdens”; and, those burdens come in different shapes and sizes. Sometimes we are burdened by sin. At other times, our burden is physical or emotional; and, God intends to use our brothers & sisters, in Christ, to mature us!

Why Are We Here?

“Since making disciples is the main reason why a church exists, everything in the corporate body of the local church needs to be aligned in a way that funnels people toward these discipleship environments, the most notable of which is the relational small group”—from the chapter titled “Rethinking Our Practices” p.171 in Jim Putnam’s excellent book, DiscipleShift.