Growth in Christ

Growth in Christ
God would like for His people to prosper in many things,
but in many cases this might mean the ruin of their lives. Maybe
they could not handle a lot of money, as the pride of life and the
lust for material things would turn them from God. They would
be so busy handling the money, they would have no time for God
or would “play God” with it. Not having the mind of Christ, they
could give it to the wrong people, and it could do more damage
than good.

We must be mature enough in Christ to know and recognize
the Lord’s voice when giving money. Satan is the god of this world
and he has the power to influence us so that we give to wrong
things, thereby robbing us of putting our money where it would
do the most good.

The Lord wants us to grow to maturity so that we come to a
place where we have His knowledge and wisdom in every circumstance
that faces us. To do this we must learn to make judgments
according to the Spirit of God and not according to the
flesh. Just as we cannot trust immature children with big responsibilities,
the Lord cannot entrust babies in Him with jobs they are
incapable of handling.
Yet this does not mean that He will not give beginning Christians
responsibilities. He will let them handle situations that they
can manage. As parents, we allow our younger children to do
small jobs at home under our supervision. However, we would
not think of sending them out to handle a business deal for us
because they are not old enough and would not have the knowledge
to even begin to understand our business.
The Holy Spirit teaches us and trains us to learn God’s will
and His ways. When we have successfully learned these ways,
then He sends us out to perform jobs for Him. Many young converts
get into trouble as they are so eager to serve God and have
much zeal, but lack God’s wisdom and training. They eagerly go
out to “save the world,” yet have not been groomed by the Holy
Spirit. We need to let the Spirit of God engage us in the “school of
the Spirit,” and let Him tell us when we are ready to go out. When
He sends someone forth, He makes a way and provides for them.
Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it (1 Thessalonians
5:24).

Much discredit has been brought on the name of the Lord by
eager souls preaching while not even being free from the spirits of
pride, poverty, sin and worldly ways. The Lord’s method is to
first cleanse and train us before sending us out in full-time ministry.
This does not mean that we are completely purified before
God can use us, nor that we will cease from making mistakes.
However, the Lord will have done enough in us for us to be able
to handle the ministry to which He has called us. Many times the
“call” comes from God several years before the actual sending
forth. We see this in the apostle Paul’s life (Galatians 1:13-18).
Getting back to Isaiah 9:6, we see that God relates to us as
a child, because He was a child; as a son, because He was a son
(He was a teenager); then as a man because He grew to full manhood
and took the responsibility of the government on His shoulder.
He grew from a child, to the young man, and finally to the
mature Son, so He can relate to us on any level we are walking.
The Lord is so close that He can, and does hear us, and He
understands us. He came in the form of flesh so He knows how
we feel. Hebrews 4:15-16 says, For we have not an high priest
which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities;
but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that
we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
In the Greek text, the word infirmities means physical or moral
weaknesses. From this we can see that the Lord Jesus is a high
priest who can “feel” the pain that you and I feel.

If we are hurting, then Jesus is hurting. If our hearts are
aching, then His heart is aching. Every time we hurt, He is hurting
with us. His heart is grieved over our infirmities. He does not
want us to suffer with these things; He wants to help in our time
of need. He wants us to be well, joyful and whole. He does not
want us to suffer with aches, sorrows and sicknesses.
If we do not find relief after praying and seeking God to
remove our suffering, we need to ask God if there is something in
our lives that is blocking us from receiving His answer and His
peace. We need to ask God what is the root cause of our problem.
Many times, the Lord in His wisdom cannot even answer this prayer
right away because we are not ready to receive it. So we must be
willing to wait for our answer.

Sometimes it is too painful for us to receive a revelation of
“self.” God has to wait and love and nurture us, and let us grow
more before He can give us our answer. We might not be at a
place in the Lord where we could deal with our problem, even if
we knew the answer. Yet Jesus knows when we are ready to receive.
As we come to that place in due time, we will overcome
and get the victory. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 3:1, To every
thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the
heaven. The Lord can relate to us where we are, whether as a
child, a son, or full-grown adult.