1 John 3:2 “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.”
Pastor Herk continues: In the purposeful progressive process of Sanctification, we grow and mature a little more each day, until one day we arrive at Christ-likeness. Why doesn’t God immediately take us to Heaven with full spiritual maturity when we receive Him as Lord and Savior? One reason is that His plan for our maturity includes the process of becoming more like Christ day after day. Another reason is that the Lord has godly work for us to do in service for the Kingdom while we are here.
The second step that we need to take is: we have to mature in community with other Believers in the Body of Christ – the Church. Equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. There is a sense in which that maturity of the body is a result of the maturity of the individual Believers. There is also a sense, which our bodies can only function as well as our weakest parts. The same thing is true in the church. Christ’s body is only going to be as strong as its members that make up the church. We cannot leave anybody behind. We need to be convicted to help all of us deepen our faith, and grow together in unity and maturity in faith to stability in the fullness of Christ, then we shall no longer be spiritual infants.
John 17:17 “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”
The third step that we need to take is: we have to hold unswervingly to the Word of God. We have to be strong in the Scripture and strong in the faith. The Greek word for “faith” is “pistis“, meaning belief; the conviction that God exists and is the Creator and Ruler of all things, the Provider and Bestower of eternal salvation through Christ. Includes conviction or belief respecting man's relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of total trust and holy fervor born of faith and joined with it. A deep belief with the predominate idea of trust and confidence with credence; moral conviction of religious truth of the Word of God, the Moral Law and the truthfulness of God, especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly, constancy in such profession; the Gospel truth itself.
The primary function of the Apostles and Prophets, as they were led by the Holy Spirit, was to establish the authoritative Word of God. The Word of God is our doctrine, the Greek word “didaskalia”, meaning instruction (the function or the information) for learning and teaching of the Holy Bible and the Christian faith. There is practical guidance in the doctrine of the God-breathed Word of God on how to live out our day-to-day lives; it is our moral compass to navigate through life. It is the antidote to being tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of godless people, by craftiness in deceitful scheming of unbelieving pagans going on around us in this fallen in sin world. Like checking for counterfeit currency, we need to test everything we hear and read against the Bible. Do not take anything as truth until you have tested it against the truth of God’s Word in the Holy Scriptures.
Ephesians 1:17 “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.”
The fourth step that we need to take is: we need to develop our relationship with Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord - of the knowledge of the Son of God; a knowledge that is gained by experience. Everything that we do at church is for the purpose of pointing us to Jesus Christ and experienced Him. But, you do not develop a deep relationship by spending time together for only one hour a week. We as a church encourage all to grow in their relationship with every day by spending time with Him in reading the Bible, in personal prayer, in small group and personal Bible Studies, in ministry outreach et cetera … dedicated and devoted in discipleship to experience your personal relationship with God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Surface level relationships may look a mile wide, but are only an inch deep. Every day take a step closer and establish a deeper relationship with your blessed Redeemer and Lord of all.
The fifth step that we need to take is: we need to minister to others, to give, to bestow, bring forth, commit, or deliver of one to someone to care for their interests. We have been blessed in order to be a blessing, so every member of the body of Christ is a minister. God’s people are to carry out the work of ministry because that results in the advancement of the kingdom and the building up of the body. This is putting Christian doctrine into practice, meeting the needs of others. It all comes about by God’s people ministering to others. We do not want our Christianity to be a mile wide and an inch deep.
In Christ, Brian
No comments:
Post a Comment