Christian Maturity
INTRODUCTION
Christendom is full of people who call themselves Christians, yet they fail to manifest the presence of Jesus Christ in their lives. Oh, by the standards of the world they may live disciplined lives, and they are what most folk would call good people, but they don’t measure up to what the bible describes as a true Christian. There is a vast gulf, which exists between those who have a head knowledge about Jesus and those whose hearts are filled with the spirit of Jesus. Does this mean that those who only know about Jesus are not saved? God is the only one who knows that! What we do know is that it would be a very foolish person who thinks that they are a Christian because of some ritual they performed or because of being the member of a church.
Jesus said that if we are in Him then we will obey His commands, and He also said that He has come so that we might have life and have it more abundantly. If you have Jesus then you obey Him and you have a life that is truly a joy to live. If you are in Christ then you have everything a soul can possibly want and thus there is absolutely no reason for a person not to manifest the joy of the Lord. Yet, you ask a so called Christian: "how do you feel?" and they say: "ok." You ask a Christian; "how was your day?" and they say: "ok." You stand off to the side and watch a Christian and what do you see? You see frustration, anger, worry, anxiety, sickness, emotional disorder, mental disorder, and a long face. Now I ask you: "why do you see these things in Christians?" It is because they are so much a part of this world, and so disobedient, that the world can shake the joy of the Lord right out of them.
DO NOT BE A PART OF THAT WHICH CAN BE SHAKEN
The author of Hebrews writes: See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken-- that is, created things-- so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire." (NIV) Hebrews 12:25-29
If the things of this world can shake you then you are in a poor condition to be calling yourself a Christian. Now don’t run off and get mad! Yes God still loves you and yes other Christians still love you; but you got some things that need working out. To start with, because you are a born again Christian you should not be a part of this world. If you are not of this world then this world cannot shake you. You should be a part of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God cannot be shaken and thus you should not be able to be shaken. Perhaps the reason you can be shaken by the world is because you still have one foot in this world … most of us do. Things like a career, a spouse, your physical body, your emotions, and your mind are all examples of chains, which can bind us to this world. You will never be able to break these chains until you have died to yourself and then been reborn into the spirit of Jesus. I don’t know about you but I have to remind myself of this over and over again. As long as we are bound to this world by the chains of human reason the kingdom of God cannot dominate our heart … it can only run around in our head. As long as we primarily have head knowledge of Jesus we will not be strong enough to resist being shaken by the things of this world.
There are two major reasons that Christians remain bound to the physical world more than the spiritual realm of God. The first reason is because they are so in love with the physical world that they cannot let go of it. Such people can only believe in what their five senses detect, and thus they can only react to the vanity of the physical realm. Jesus taught that true Christians are those who have come to the place where they hate the physical world and all that is in it, and therefore have been transformed into the spiritual. The second major reason why people only have a head knowledge of Jesus is because their heart has not been purged of all sin. Paul and James expounded on Jesus’ teachings about how our minds are the real battleground on which we fight Satan. Sin that is manifested by physical action is the result of a mind, which has been given over to the influence of Satan. A mind, which has been given over to Satan, is the resultant of lost spiritual battles. Immature Christians, win the majority of their physical battles, and many of their mental battles, but they have lost way too many of their spiritual battles. This defeat is manifested by their willingness to tolerate "little" sins in their life. Our love of what we know is real, combined with our unwillingness to fight Satan on all levels, binds us to this physical world and keeps us from becoming partners with Christ.
WE MUST ENTER THE SPIRITUAL REALM
If Jesus is really in our heart then He has control over every aspect of our being. If Jesus is only in our mind then our relationship with Jesus is very shallow and subject to our emotional conditions. If Jesus is only in our minds we are still immature Christians and we let other things into our mind, which drive the Holy Spirit out. If Jesus is in our heart then there is nothing that can drive Him out of us. If Jesus is in our heart then we will make the transition from this physical world into the spiritual world, and we will experience the kingdom of God in our lives right now. God is real … Jesus is real … the Holy Spirit is real … the kingdom of God is real … the physical world is only an allusion. We must learn to come to Jesus with our hearts so that He can pour out upon us His joy.
You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: "If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned." The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, "I am trembling with fear."
(NIV) Hebrews 12:18-21
When you pray only in your mind then you are only coming to the mountain. The mountain is the physical representation of the majesty of God and as such it can only impact the mind of man. If you are to be unshaken in your Christian walk then you must stop going to the mountain. You must learn to worship in the spirit and in the spirit go directly to the thrown room of God. You learn to worship in the spirit by first learning to pray in the spirit. This means taking time, finding a quite place, thinking about God, thinking about yourself and then talking to God with your heart and not your mind. It also helps if you ask God to help you be with Him in spirit and not just in your mind. Remember, the physical Christian goes to the mountain, but the spiritual Christian goes to the thrown room of God.
But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. (NIV) Hebrews 12:22-24
The person who has truly been in the spirit with God will never again want to go to the physical mountain. What a wonder it is to pray in the spirit and to see the air in front of you begin to ripple and move like heated air on a hot summer afternoon. As the rift between this physical world and the spiritual world begins to open you see before you the thrown room of God. In the blink of an eye you are no longer on your knees in your home. You are in the very presence of the living God and Jesus! What a place to be. You are in the thrown room and it is filled with angels, saints, spiritual beings, Old Testament prophets, and the spirits of those who have died in Jesus. Man oh man what a place of power! If you have been in the thrown room then you know that you have it made and that nothing can shake you at all. Once you have seen the spiritual power of God you don’t see this world the way you use to. Once you have been to the thrown room you never want to go to the mountain again.
We can all go to the thrown room of God. Jesus’ death tore the curtain in twain and now nothing separates us from God. There is nothing secrete or mystical about going to the thrown room of God. Just pray, close your eyes and go there. Kneel before the thrown of God and talk to Him.
It is impossible for a person to be in this physical world, where they can be shaken and at the same time live in the spiritual world where they cannot be shaken. You cannot have strong attachments of your heart to the physical world and still be able to enter the spiritual world. You cannot totally devote your heart to anything in the physical world and still be able to love Jesus they way He demands. Turning your heart away from the physical world, however, is one of the most difficult lessons that a Christian has to learn. In our mind we can care for, be concerned about, and love the things of the physical world, but we must reserve our heart for Jesus. You see, the heart is the driving force of reality and it must be in control of us … not our mind. The mind is nothing but a battleground for our will, and as such it is most allusive and unstable. It is only when we have totally put our mind into second place, and filled our heart with Jesus that we will enter the spiritual realm and become unshakable.
"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-- yes, even his own life-- he cannot be my disciple.
And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
(NIV) Luke 14:26-27
"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (NIV) Matt 10:37-39
I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
(NIV) John 12:24-25
WE MUST BATTLE ALL SIN IF WE ARE TO BE SPIRITUAL
Once a person has died to self, and been reborn into the spirit of Jesus, they will spend the rest of their lives battling against all kinds of sin in their lives. Remember, both the immature Christian and the mature Christian will battle sin in their minds, but it is only the mature Christian who, through the aid of the Holy Spirit, battles sin in spiritual realms. When sin is in our hands the whole world can see it. When sin is in our minds only those nearest to us can see it. When sin is hidden in our hearts then most of the time we are the only ones who can see it. The sin in our hands seems so dark because everyone hates it. The sin in our mind is a gray sin because only those in Christendom see it. The sin that is in our hearts, however, may not even appear to be sin. The sin in our hearts can even become hidden from us. Yet, sin hidden in our hearts is the worst sin of all. We fail to see our heart-centered sin because Satan has drawn a veil over our eyes, and thus we cannot see the very thing that is keeping us from a deep spiritual relationship with Jesus. It is this self-centered sin that keeps us from totally letting go of the physical world. As long as we hold on to this old world we will never be able to die to self and be reborn into the spirit of Christ.
Will this heart-hidden sin keep us out of the kingdom of God? God is the only one who knows. No one wants to believe that this sin will separate you from God, but we must acknowledge that it will keep you from becoming all that you could be. I do know that this sin will rob you of the joy of the Lord. I do know that this sin will keep you from experiencing a true spiritual walk with God. This sin may not send you to hell but that is no reason to let it continue in your life.
Yes, I know that we cannot place a measure of magnitude against sin, but we can evaluate the impact of various sins on our Christian walk. Sin is sin, but acknowledged sin can be taken to spiritual realms where we will fight against it and be victorious. Sin that is not acknowledged will anchor itself in our hearts where it will not be fought against, and thus it continues to hamper our relationship with Jesus. But, once an unacknowledged sin has been confessed it is no longer hidden, and thus it’s threat to us has been considerably lessened. Of course this is assuming that we are battling all acknowledged sin in our lives. The key is to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit in revealing to us any sin, which we have failed to acknowledge. Sin may not have levels of magnitude but it is human nature to ignore sin that seems to have little impact on our physical lives.
CONCULSION
Christendom is indeed full of people who call themselves Christians, yet they fail to manifest the presence of Christian maturity in their lives. Yes, by the standards of the world they may live disciplined lives, and they are what most folk would call good people, but they don’t measure up to what the bible describes as a mature Christian. Immature Christians are those who have too strong a link to the physical world. Immature Christians are those who fail to acknowledge hidden sin in their lives. Immature Christians are those who don’t have the joy of the Lord in their lives. Jesus said that we are not of this world and that we are to obey His commands. There is a reason we are to turn our backs on the world and devote our lives to Jesus. Jesus said that He has come into the world so that we might have life and have it more abundantly. Now I ask you: "why would any one of us not be willing to turn our backs to this world and all that is in it?" Why would any one of us want to allow unacknowledged sin to exist in our life? Let us urge one another to reject this world, fight the good fight to clean all sin out of our lives, and each day labor to walk in the kingdom of God
