Here recently the Lord has been leading me to write out for further clarity the importance of discipleship and the vitality of recognizing the spiritual maturity of others before we speak. As we look upon the disciples we can recognize that not only did they go out to share the Good News but they also took responsibility for the new births. They did not just care about the “numbers” of who came to Christ but they understood their responsibility of continuing to teach Gods Word in order for each new child to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ.
There were times of (encouragement) and there were times of (rebuke) individually and corporately in order to help develop and maintain the direction of God. They understood what it meant to be a disciple and taught the importance of working within the body. There is a very interesting scripture that comes to mind in Matthew 7:24 where Jesus says,”And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” This scripture teaches us again the importance of sharing the Good News for Gods glory and not our own.
Jesus taught us the proper Way to serve in Matthew 6 as He also spoke against public display. When we don’t take the time to teach God’s Word to His children then we can be setting them up for a hard fall or for a future division within the body.This often occurs from individuals trying to quench the Spirit of God due to their own lack of understanding. Here are some prime examples that directly relate with this message of Truth.
Recently there was a young man that attended a charismatic service and this same young man received the Holy Spirit with evidence to the congregation as they proclaimed. This same young man was in the presence of the Holy Spirit but lacked a relationship with the Lord due to his own immaturity in the Word. It was just a couple of weeks later that this same young man placed a rope around his neck and committed suicide.
On another occasion there was a spiritual movement taking place within a Baptist church and within this movement the youth were ignited after attending an outside service in Florence, Alabama. This same youth group that was ignited was quickly quenched due to the lack of understanding within the leadership of the church and the lack of communication between all parties involved. This has now led to some of the youth falling away and others not knowing how to handle the wounds that were inflicted due to the quenching of the Spirit and lack of communication.
One other instance that relates directly with this message took place between a an prophetic evangelist that spoke into someones life. This individual was like a teenager in God’s Word and as many of us they thought that they were ready before they actually were. By the evangelist speaking into their life this caused someone to jump before they were ready. Recognizing the maturity levels of others and within our own self as well is wise to understand in order to be ready for the side affects to follow. Unfortunately, due to the lack of discipleship and teaching in Gods Word Satan has been infecting the body and causing a spirit of distrust to take many further out to sea.
The point of the message is this: It is very wise to understand our responsibilities under God and to recognize the maturity levels before we speak. Paul teaches us this 1 Corinthians by saying,”I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it.” What Paul spoke as Jesus taught was displayed in the life of Joseph when he spoke to his brothers. Do you think that maybe Joseph learned this lesson as well when he sat in prison reflecting back to why his brothers became jealous?
I wonder if he looked back and said,”If I just would have kept my mouth shut and not shared those dreams with my brothers.” By sharing those revelations and dreams with his brothers before they were ready to receive this opened the door for Satan due to their own spiritual immaturity. Let’s praise God for now having the history to now look upon in order to break the repetitive patterns that hold us back in life. For Jesus has made the Way and the object is to seek the Truth everyday….amen
James A. Harrison
http://balancedlifeministry.org
http://specialdeliverybook.com
Sometimes we tend to think that maturity is how much someone knows. How many times have they read the Bible? How much doctrine do they understand? Etc. I tend to think maturity is obedience based. Does the person obey what they know they should do or just file it away in a virtual memory bank.
By expecting people we disciple to obey ALL that Christ commanded (Matthew 28:18-20), we can input the right DNA into them from the very start.
Agreed
Job 32:8 “But it is the spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding.”
You are so cool! I do not believe I’ve truly read through a single thing like that before. So good to find someone with genuine thoughts on this subject matter. Really.. many thanks for starting this up. This website is one thing that is required on the web, someone with a little originality!
everything comes straight from the source and it is all to God’s glory…There are many copycats in this world but when we seek God He will us the Way…
This article only breaks the ice. There is so much more that needs to be addressed in this area that can assist in uniting the body instead of it being divided.
What are you looking to expand upon? Give me a specific area and we can address.
Aww man! Thats it right there! Spiritual maturity. Its funny in the church when someone begins to grow and they soon surpass the leaders of the chrch, the church puts that person on lockdown. The reason to that is we have let the lukewarm and the backsliddin determine the standards. They so oh you can be on fire just stay inside this line. People set up lines for our faith..but you know whas funny..the moment our christianity becomes confrontational in actuality becomes christianity..