GOG - 18 - 227 - Some Signposts To Spiritual Maturity (Part 2)
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Some SIGNPOSTS to SPIRITUAL MATURITY
100km
(Part 2)
Pastor Nkechi Ene (Mrs.) In part one, we looked at some examples of
161 Princes persecute me without a cause, but my heart stands in awe of Your Word. 162 I rejoice at Your Word as one who Winds great treasure.” Psalms 119:159-162
signposts to spiritual maturity. We realized that signposts show you how close to or how far you are from your destination. Since our
Think of the saints in countries like China and other countries where there is so much persecution. The Christians there may know very little but they are more mature than many
destination in this article is spiritual maturity,
When you hold somebody in high esteem, you
of us because they value the little they know.
one would think that our focus should be on
will do whatever they tell you to do. When you
That is why when government agents ask them
certain things that people would consider as
are growing spiritually, whatever little you
to denounce Jesus Christ they are ready to die
spiritual. However, we realized that one’s
know becomes like a treasure to you. You
than to obey them. They don’t know the Greek
ability to control one’s body, the proper use of
won’t play with His Word that says you should
and the Hebrew you may know. They may not
the tongue as well as one’s display of
not neglect the assembling together of
even have read the Bible. Maybe all they have
commitment to the things of God are pointers
believers (Hebrews 10:25). You won’t also play
translated to them in their language is the New
to how close or how far someone is to spiritual
with His Word that says you should pay your
Testament. They may not even know what the
maturity.
tithe. I feel very strange when I hear somebody
Old Testament teaches but they have come to
stand and give a testimony saying, “I paid my
value what they know. They have a high regard
In this concluding part, I will examine more
tithe in tears.” How can someone pay their
for the life transforming power in the Word of
signposts to spiritual maturity as I trust that
tithes in tears when they are not new
God and they submit to it and are ready to die
you will locate yourself and make the
converts? You have been born again for eight
for that Word. They can stand in faith and get
necessary adjustments that will enhance your
years and you are still crying over paying your
more results than you, even though you know
speed towards your destination which is
tithes! Such things irritate my spirit. If you
more.
spiritual maturity.
regard God’s Word in all the years you have
The Signpost Of Your Regard For The Word Of God I want to point out that the signpost we are
been a Christian, by now it should not be an option. It should be something you should just do.
talking about is respect or regard for the Word of God, not knowledge of the Word of God. It is
You won’t also play with His Word that says
not a mistake. It is deliberately put. I will
you should not marry an unbeliever. It will
explain what I mean.
show in your respect for your Pastor who has
159 “Consider how I love Your precepts; revive me, O Lord, according to Your lovingkindness. 160 The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.
been put there by the Word of God. You will
The way to get the best out of what you know is to develop a healthy regard for God’s Word. You will Wind out that your policy in life will be: “If it is in the Word of God that is enough for me.” Amen.
The Signpost Of Your Attitude To Material Things What is your attitude to material things? What
have respect for the leaders that the pastors
is your attitude to money? Do you know how
have put over you because that will show the
to select what is good enough for God or do
respect you have for the Word of God. It is not
you just select anything for Him? In Matthew
a function of how much you know it is how
6:21, Jesus said, “For where your treasure is,
much you value the little you know.
there your heart will be also.”
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GOG - 18 - 227 - Some Signposts To Spiritual Maturity (Part 2) As a pastor, I will gladly receive rubber shoes from a student who wants to buy me a gift, and all she can afford are rubber shoes, but when all your shoes are made of expensive pure Italian leather, and then you buy your Pastor rubber shoes, I will tell you, “Keep your rubber shoes!” The Bible says, “There is one who scatters, yet increases more; and there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty” (Proverbs 11:24). You have to have the right approach to the things of God. That attitude shows how near or far you are from your destination of spiritual maturity. Do you choose the location of your vision because of money? Do you make life-changing decisions with the primary focus on money?
the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” Matthew 19:16-22
www.thecarpenterschurch.org Is Jesus saying here that we are all not His disciples except we give up all that we have? No. So what is He saying? Jesus is addressing the matter from the root. He is not talking about giving up all that you have, for instance,
Jesus said, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” That word “perfect” translates grown, matured (I take that to mean spiritually). The man said, “Jesus bye-bye.” He couldn’t do it. The man said I have done this, I have done that, so what do I lack? Jesus said, “Where your treasure is there will your heart be also.” If you tell me that your heart is in God, go and sell your treasure and come and follow me. If you can’t then your heart is where your pocket is.
Do you marry somebody you know is not
giving up all your clothes. If I give up everything, what I gave up will be seed; that means the harvest will still come. So the minute I get the harvest, do I cease from being His disciple? No! Rather Jesus is saying, “Separate yourself from what you own. If you can separate yourself from your gold earring, then you are my disciple. If you can separate yourself from all your cars and all your designers things, then you are my disciple. If you can separate your heart from these things, then you are mature. If you stop seeing your worth based on what you own, you are my
saved just because they have money? Why
disciple.”
are people leaving where God has called them? A lot of people come to Port Harcourt
When I Wirst started working with my
because this is an oil producing city, the
pastor, Pastor Charles Omofomah, he used
land of “milk and honey.” Do you think God
to say, “I am not attached to anything
can only give you prosperity in an oil rich
materially. I can make sacriWices because I
city? Do you think He cannot give you
know I will always get; but I am not
prosperity in an apparently poor town? If
attached to anything. There is nothing I
you do, then you don’t understand your
own that I can’t let go.” Initially, I did not
Father. You simply don’t know God. That
understand it, but as the years went by and
mindset shows where you are spiritually. It reveals your immaturity. One of the greatest tests of spiritual maturity is your attitude to money. 16 “Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” 17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to Him, “Which ones?”" Jesus said, “’You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ 19 ‘Honour your father and your mother,' and, 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself.'" 20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to
as I continued to grow in the Word and in the Hebrews 5:14 (KJV) says that strong meat
ministry, I started to see in my life also that I
belongs to the mature. Jesus gave the young
could say the same thing. I would have been
ruler strong meat, but he could not eat it
lying if I had said so some years ago, just
because he was not yet full grown. A lot of us
because he was saying it. I did not make any of
are like that. That is why we are not moving
those statements until I could cut the cord.
forward. Our possessions have us.
Quietly I have been working on myself to this point and I am so glad that I am here and I can
Are you able to make sacriWices? Can you give
say that there is nothing that I own that I
up the things that are precious to you? Are you
cannot give up. I am going to stay here and
a habitual giver or do you give one gift and
keep moving forward and the more I give, the
then wait ten months to give again? Do you
more God will give me more prized
only put money in the offering basket based on
possessions and even when the temptation
who is looking at you? What is your attitude to
will come to see if I will be attached to
material things? What is your attitude to
anything I will say, “No, I have cut the cord.”
money? A lot of us try to say these things to show that 33 “So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.” Luke 14:33
we are givers but other aspects of our lives show just how attached we are to material things. I challenge you today to get to that point in your life, if you are not there already.
The Carpenter’s Ministry: All rights reserved. No portion of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or any other, without the prior permission of the above.