Archive for the ‘Spiritual Growth Series’ Category

Spiritual Growth #23

Monday, October 25th, 2010

Two Ways 

Every day we are confronted with decisions. One of the major decisions we have to make moment by moment is am I going to go God’s way or am I going to go my way.

God’s way is narrow and often difficult for us. Our way is broad and self-satisfying.

The baptism of water, as I understand it, is a decision to follow Jesus and become united with Him in His death and resurrection. Through that simple little act of faith, we join Jesus on the cross where the old man (the sin nature) is put to death. We are buried with Jesus and we rise with Him in newness of life.

A friend of mine that has now gone on to be with the lord often spoke about us spending our time in the graveyard digging up the old man and trying to straighten him out. We would put a new suit on him and send him to church and try to make him act like a holy man. He made the comment that we should just leave that old man buried in the graveyard and go on living a spiritual life in the kingdom of God as a new man in Christ.

I use this little teaching from my friend because this is the important decision we must make moment by moment, following Jesus into newness of life or spend our time in the graveyard. If we follow Jesus, we are living in the kingdom of God that is in us. If we are going our way, we are in the graveyard with all the other dead people.

Another comment this friend often made, “We minister what we are!” 

If indeed we are in the kingdom of God, life is coming forth from us moment by moment. If we are in the graveyard, we are constantly ministering death to those around us. If we are filled with life, we minister life. If we are filled with death, we minister death!   

Spiritual Growth #22

Sunday, October 3rd, 2010

Childish Ways

1 Corinthians 13:11   “When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.”

In the spiritual realm, I think most of us are like children trying to find our way in a strange land. It has been about fifty years ago that I first experienced spiritual life and encountered Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. I think there are still a number of childish things that I need to see and put behind me.    

I have learned to be a people watcher.  One of the things I noticed is how quickly people can turn from adult to child.  One moment we act as an adult and the next moment we are acting like children. I guess we have not put away all our childish things. I think I can see childishness in others much more quickly than I can in myself.  If someone else was to point out some childish act or reaction in me, I would not accept it very graciously.  Would you?

A little situation that happened a few years ago:  I inadvertently spoke to a person and said they might help another person that had some childish ways. The other person heard and as they walked out the door, this person said in a very childish way: “I am not a child!”

I am slowly learning to keep my mouth shut at times.  That remark made a difference in our relationship. From that point on, we were not as close. You might ask, “What does this have to do with spiritual growth?”

Two things: We learn to speak as a spiritual person weighing and testing everything we say as to how it is going to affect the people around us and our relationship with them.  And we need to see the childish ways that remain in us, so that we can put them away.

Ask the Holy Spirit to show you if any childish things remain; in your relations with people around you; your relationship with God; or even in your relationship with yourself.  You might be surprised what the Holy Spirit shows you.

Spiritual Growth #21

Saturday, September 11th, 2010

We can be deceived by religion into believing we are spiritual. Many people in the world believe they are spiritual when they are not.

There are some people that are spiritual and are not religious. However, they are not involved with the Holy Spirit but deceiving spirits and are not aware of it. We are called upon to test every spirit!

I don’t think anyone will deliberately go to a deceiving spirit.  It seems that this religious, spiritual thing can be very confusing.  Am I to be religious or spiritual? I think the answer is simple. We are to be both!

Jesus said that we must be born again of the Spirit to enter the Kingdom of God. He also said that pure and undefiled religion was to take care of the orphans and the widows. We are to be spiritual and religious!

There are times when religion brings us to spirituality and times when spirituality brings us to care for our fellow man, to be religious. It appears that spirituality has to do with my relationship with God and religion has to do with my caring for man.

For the most part, we’d rather be a little religious, pay our tribute to God and go about our daily lives not worrying too much about spiritual things. The problem is, spiritual things are here in this world.  They affect our lives, our circumstances, and our families in some powerful ways.  The only way to deal with these spirit’s is to be spiritual; not only that but we must use spiritual authority and power. That only comes from God.  By receiving Jesus Christ in our life and receiving spiritual power and authority through the Holy Spirit. There is no other way without being deceived and misled by some other spirit or religion that leaves you powerless with only an outward appearance of being religious and spiritual.

I am always telling people “We need Jesus in our lives for salvation because of the sin issue.  Man has sinned and needs the redeeming work of the cross.  We need the Holy Spirit and the authority that comes with Him if we are to become spiritually mature!”

Without the work of Jesus and the cross and the work of the Holy Spirit and His authority in our daily lives, we can never become the spiritually mature authority on this earth that He wants us to become.

We often get calls from Christian people that are telling us of problems in their homes. We pray on the phone and take authority over the spiritual attack. We often get a call back the next day; that everything has changed. When are Christian people going to wake up that we are in a spiritual battle with spiritual things on this earth?

Spiritual Growth #20

Sunday, September 5th, 2010

Emotions and Feelings

What a wonderful blessing emotions and feelings are. Can you imagine what it would be like if you did not have any? Emotions and feeling go hand in hand. You must have days when you say: “I feel good today!” And other times when you hear of a good report about someone else, you feel good and happy, your emotions rise up and you feel joyous.

Not everyone can feel emotions. For one reason or another, they have stopped working, they are blocked or shut down. I believe that when Adam and Eve fell and were put out of the garden it had a very bad affect on man’s emotional condition. As a result, our emotional being and ability to feel has to be restored. How many of you know that at times you do not function well emotionally? I expect that most of you do.

How many of you notice that at times your spouse and children do not function well emotionally. I expect you would all would say; “Yes that is true!”
Have you noticed that our emotions bear fruit – sometimes good, sometimes bad. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self-control. Notice how many of these things have something to do with our emotional well being and our feelings.

We are to walk in the Spirit, being led by the Spirit. Why?

When we allow the Holy Spirit and our spirit, to be one in the spirit, then we are able to use our emotions and feeling to send and receive in a positive way, instead of a destructive way. Did you ever notice in a home filled with peace that people’s emotions are under control. In the home filled with chaos everybody’s emotions are all stirred up most of the time, their feeling are all in turmoil. What a playground for the enemy spirit.

Jesus said; “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”

What we need to see is the truth that we are not always doing very well emotionally. If we see that we need help and our family members need help, then we can go to the Lord for help and healing. The healthier we are, the more health we bring to people around us.

Emotions and feeling can be positive or negative. It seems to be up to us which way I keep them. I affect others either in a positive or negative way. How is your emotional condition affecting your family?

If we show no emotions or feelings that’s not good. If we are too emotional that is not good either. Each one of us must find that place where we function best. The Holy Spirit will help us to become stable in all our ways and have a very positive influence on the people around us.

A spiritual mature person is one that has learned to control their emotions and feeling, and how to use them in a proper way. How blessed is the person that has stability in their emotions and feelings.

Spiritual Growth #19

Monday, August 9th, 2010

The Importance of Good Thinking

2 Peter 1:4-8

For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, ?perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness,

and in your godliness, ?brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. for if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor ?unfruitful in the true ?knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

One of the very important, if not the most important thing for self-control is your thinking. What you think about has an affect on what comes out of your mouth. Your thinking also affects your actions and your emotions. The longer your mind dwells on bad thoughts, the more likely you are to say and do the wrong things. How blessed is the man that has learned to know the difference between good thinking and bad thinking.

One of the comments you hear quite often; “I spoke without thinking!” Do you speak without thinking? Our speech and our emotions are forces to be reckoned with.  It is not wise to allow either one of them any freedom without doing some serious thinking.

The damage to our relationships is quite extensive because we don’t consider what these words and actions are doing to the people around us.  And, how long it takes to redeem what our words and emotional outbreaks have done. I realize now that some of these things can never be redeemed.

If you are truly interested in spiritual growth you must begin to practice restraint and self-control.  You will never come to spiritual maturity without it. I would encourage you to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to nudge you every time that you’re thinking and emotions are out of control.

Spiritual Growth #18

Sunday, August 1st, 2010

Another important aspect of spiritual growth is communication between us and the kingdom of God. The Bible makes it very clear how God speaks to us in this day and age and we need to be open to every one of these means of communication.

In acts Ch 2:17:  “And it shall be in the last days”, God says, “That I will pour forth of My Spirit upon all mankind; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. And your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.”

This speaks of three ways that God speaks to men.  The first of these was prophesy. Prophesy is when God speaks through people.  What people?  It could be a pastor, priest or minister; it could be a member of your family or a total stranger. If your spiritual man is listening, he will hear it and know where it is coming from.

The second is visions.  I think they are quite common but spiritually we are blind so we don’t see them or recognize them for what they are. Often we just think that was my imagination.

Thirdly are dreams.  We all dream even if we are not aware or do not remember it. I have had many wonderful dreams from God; some of them warned me of things to watch out for, others brought me healing, still others set me free from things that bound me.

God speaks to us through His son Jesus.

Hebrews Ch 1:1-2:  God after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.

God speaks through the Bible.  This is God’s book to the world, where He has hidden many treasures if anyone wants to search for them; many of the things that Jesus spoke in the past are recorded there.

God speaks to us through Christ in us, the hope of glory; the living word that is written in our hearts and minds.  We have no excuse for not hearing God.

As spiritual people we should be learning to hear from God in all these ways.  One very important thought I want to leave with you.  We can have the dream, the vision, the bible, the prophetic word and Christ in us and not be able to interpret the message properly.  tThe natural mind cannot understand the things of God and thinks them foolish.

Thank God when we function as spiritual men and women we can understand and interpret all these things properly. 

Spiritual Growth #17

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010

One of the spiritual abilities that come with spiritual growth is an awareness of the Holy Spirit and the awareness of other spirits that are not holy. I expect that all of you at times experience feeling uncomfortable with some people and some locations. Some of this uncomfortable feeling is because there is another spirit in or with that person or in that location.

I want to encourage you to begin to pay attention to these uncomfortable feeling. Don’t run away from them but begin to reach out with your spirit and see where these things are coming from and what they are. We right away think it is us, and that there is something wrong with me. No! It is not you; you are sensing or feeling another spirit.  Recognize it for what it is.

Spirits come in many forms, such as anger, discouragement, heaviness, guilt, unworthiness, accusation, blame and many other ways. These things invade our homes and try to get strongholds in our minds and hearts. If you can recognize them for what they are, you can take authority over them and cast them out of your home and family.

These spirits are very subtle; they want you to think it is you or a member of your family. They don’t want you to recognize them as a spirit that you can deal with, bind and cast out. When we recognize a spirit for what it is and realize we don’t have to be afraid of it, we have already defeated it.

Really begin to pay attention in your home and business and you will begin to recognize and be surprised how many of these spirits are active around you and possibly affecting you.

May God bless you with good spiritual discernment.

Spiritual Growth #16

Sunday, June 6th, 2010

One of the scriptures you should know and spend some time on is in Hebrews 4:12. I would encourage you to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to give you a clear understanding of every part of that scripture.

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

If you do not come to the place where you know the difference between the soul and the spirit you will always have a problem knowing what God is sayings to you.

I have come to see that faith has a voice and it is always there, ready to show you the way.  Your natural mind does not recognize it and does not want to follow its leading. The wise man will listen to what faith has to say to him and will not be mislead by the natural mind which always wants to have its own way.

When we are double-minded, we are always uncertain about what to do, what to say and where to go.

         Hebrew 12:1  Now faith is the ?assurance of things ?hoped for, the conviction of ?things not seen.

         I like to listen to what faith tells me and to walk in it because then I am filled with confidence and assurance. I know what I am to do, where I am to go and what I am to say. When faith is not telling me to do any of these things I just relax and enjoy life. God has not told me to do great thing for Him.  He just wants me to be available.

A word to the wise! Several years ago when I got all wound up and uptight He told me to relax and enjoy life, enjoy my family, enjoy the church, and to enjoy Him. I have tried to do that ever since. Being legalistic and climbing on everyone’s back is not being spiritual.    

Spiritual Growth #15

Sunday, May 9th, 2010

I have a question!

Why do you desire spiritual growth?  What is your motivation?  Are you trying to use it as an escape route?  Do you think it will give you power and authority over someone else?

I have discovered that spiritual growth means greater service to God and to those around us.  Spiritual growth calls us to be servants.  If you are trying to attain spiritual growth by other means then going through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit you still land up being servants to other spirits and demons.

Another interesting aspect of spiritual growth, I am assuming you are all on a spiritual quest for a closer walk with God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, God becomes much bigger to you than He ever was before. When God becomes bigger to you then you become bigger too.  You have a lot more potential and can do things you never thought you could do.

It is not that God gets any bigger.  We just become more aware of how big He is. The same is true with us.  We do not get any bigger.  We become more aware that we are more capable then we thought we were.  What is happening is our consciousness is increasing and the unconscious is decreasing.  God is totally conscious.  He has not lost any of his consciousness like we did because of Adam’s fall. When Adam and Eve fell, they lost much of their consciousness.  As we go on with our spiritual development, our consciousness is being restored.  As a result, we are more aware of God and of who we are, and more aware of the folks around us.

Jesus said, we would see Him as He is and we would be like Him.  When that happens we will be totally conscious one again.  We see dimly because our conscious level is so limited.  When we become fully conscious then we will see all things clearly.  

Spiritual Growth #14 (April 16, 2010)

Saturday, April 17th, 2010

One of the things that happen as we grow spiritually is, we begin to question how adequate we are.  This is a very important issue. Many of us have placed a lot of confidence in our own strength and in own abilities, this must change.

Paul speaks of this in 2 Corinthians 3:5-6:  And such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God. Who also made us adequate as servants, not of the letter, but of the Spirit: for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

I want to share with you an incident that happened to me a long tome ago. When the Lord brought me into this ministry He showed me some of the things that were going to happen. I made the mistake of trying to make them happen. After about a year of trying and failing I gave up and told God I don’t want this ministry I can’t do it.  He said; “no the ministry is yours; I did not show you what you had to do; I showed you what I was going to do!”

Don’t make the mistake of trying to be spiritual. When you were a child did you have to try to be a child? No! You just naturally did childish things. You have now turned to the Lord and have been born-again of the Spirit, you don’t have to try to be spiritual, and you are spiritual. Now it is just a matter of using your spiritual senses and letting them develop.

Relax, don’t try to be super spiritual overnight, it took you years to grow up naturally and it is going to take time for you to grow up spiritually. Look around you at the young people.  Do they make mistakes? Did you make mistakes growing up? You are going to make a few mistakes in your spiritual journey. Don’t be to hard on yourself, keep pressing on, keep your eyes on Jesus, and stay attuned to the Holy Spirit. You will find that in your daily life you will become more and more fruitful in your speech and in your actions as your spiritual growth increases and the old ways are left behind. You are in the process of becoming like Jesus, a servant.