SPIRITUAL MATURITY (II)

Pr. Geoffrey Kibombo

Hebrews 11:24 (AMP)

“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter”

Mature people make good decisions!

The above scripture is a short verse with a bountiful revelation. Moses who was Jewish had been brought up in the palace and nurtured and brought up according to Egyptian culture, norms and beliefs; but when he was of age, he declined to be referred to as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. Moses’s brothers were in captivity and had he decided to remain a royal, he would have had to afflict them. However there was a word that his generation would be taken into captivity but God will redeem them (Gen 15:13-14).

When Moses became of age, he made a good decision – for spiritual maturity empowers you to make right and godly decisions. Many born again people still make bad decisions. Why? They are spiritually immature (1Cor 13:11). You may come across a person who has been saved for a couple of years but speaks, reasons, decides and acts ignorantly immature and when such a person is faced with problems, he or she decides poorly or keeps threatening to quit salvation; this happens because such is still spiritually immature irrespective of the years one has been saved. Such a person only wants to live a life that is stress and problem free, and cannot bear walking in the narrow road; but Moses decided to forsake the luxurious palace life and chose to suffer with God’s people for a greater cause beyond his understanding – he chose divine purpose over worldly pleasures. Hebrews 11:25-26 (NLT) explains; “He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward.”

Significance of the Five-fold Ministry

The main role of the five-fold ministry is to nurture us so that we spiritually grow to a level where our character is likened to that of Christ, and when we aim to attain that, we are in position not to make bad decisions or be taken up by false teachings or doctrines. You may not be aware of this, but God has a plan and He put in place the five-fold ministry in order to implement this plan; so when Christ ascended to heaven, he acquired for us the five-fold ministries - pastors, evangelists, prophets, apostles and teachers. The responsibility of these ministries is to prepare God’s people for service and to help them grow in Christ. Our role therefore as Christians is to prepare ourselves to be fulfilled and equipped because there is work to do. Ephesians 4:11-15 (NLT) says;

“Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ….”

One of the weapons against the false prophets is the revelation and knowledge of God’s plan towards us; for nothing is able to derail us if we are spiritually mature and wise (wisdom is seeing things from God’s perspective). At this level, you can make good decisions because you have an understanding and revelation of what the word of God says. People join various cults because they are ignorant of the word of God and His ways; however, if you have understanding of  the word of God, then you know that the bible warns in Matthew 7:15-17 (ESV) that; “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.” 

You can know servants of God by their fruits, however false prophets will only show you their gifts because they bear ungodly fruit, but some believers are ignorant about the difference. It is therefore important for Christians to desire to grow in the Lord so that we are not tossed about by any kind of doctrine as stated in Ephesians 4:14 above. 

Maturity changes your perception

If you are in salvation and you have been taught the word, the most important task thereafter is to apply the word in your life and use it to fight the tricks of the devil. Every time you get a revelation about the word that you have received (Rhema) or been taught in the church, that revelation will enable you to grow and stand firmly - maturity is not about how much you know but how much you apply that which you know.

When Moses declined to be a royal – grandson of Pharaoh and preferred to be treated as the people of God, he declined the short-term rewards involved. Many people in this generation are chasing after the passing pleasures of the world that last a short while; they make such decisions because they are immature spiritually and ignorant of the word. Besides making good decisions, maturity enables one to see things differently. When Moses grew up, he could see that his brothers were being oppressed (Exodus 2:11); maturity gave him a different perspective. We are encouraged to have a mindset and character like that of Christ who leaves the ninety-nine to go and look for the one who is lost. Philippians 2:5 (AMPC) says; “Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus”

We need to be capable of imitating Christ in character (attitude and humility) and purpose - that is the significance of Christianity. The most important measure of spiritual maturity is character. Christ-like character is the ultimate goal of all Christians, and to settle for anything less is to miss the point of spiritual growth. Ephesians 4:13 (NLT) says; “This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.” Developing the character of Christ is life’s most important task because it is the only thing we will take with us into eternity.

On his way to deliver a letter demanding the persecution of Christians, Saul encountered God and was blinded by the light of God (Acts 9). God sent Ananias to him but he was afraid because of Paul’s history of persecuting believers; Ananias questioned how God could send him to a person like Paul who had done a lot of evil things to Christians (Acts 9:13). Many of us have the Ananias mindset or attitude, but we should know that however bad the previous sins and deeds of a person, as long as God has forgiven and chosen that person to be his vessel (Acts 9:15), we should just abide as well; there are people (with a dark and sinful past) we judge, but God has a different perception about them.

Consider Peter, the devil wanted to use him to sabotage God’s plan for redemption of humanity but Jesus being spiritually mature, was able to discern that it was the devil using Peter (Matthew 16:23) – spiritual maturity looks beyond the physical into the spiritual because whatever manifests in the physical is birthed in the spiritual 

Through Trials we grow

James 1:2-4 (AMP)

"Consider it nothing but joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various trials. 3 Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace]. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing."

When you grow, you see things according to the plan of God. There are things you consider as challenges in your life, but when you grow, you realise they were lessons preparing you for the work ahead. Paul said the trials benefited him and were a great boost in dissemination of the gospel (Philippians 1:12). For where others saw suffering, he saw an opportunity to spread the gospel of Christ. God uses various life trials like lack, disappointment, delays, temptation and challenges to develop our character; He does so by allowing us to experience situations where we are tempted to do the reverse of the right character; for character growth always involves making a choice, and when we make the right one, our character grows more like that of Christ. Jesus too suffered as well – he was criticized, discouraged, betrayed, tempted and hurt, and that is why God wants to take us through what Jesus went through so that we can grow spiritually.

Look at the things you consider hardships, thorns or problems in your life; as long as God enables you to get past them, at a later time you shall see that they were spiritual growth lessons. For example lack teaches one to trust God, to be contented and to learn how to utilize scarce resources; living with a bitter or quarrelsome person teaches us humility by learning to tolerate and accommodate people of contrary behavior and some problems teach us how to pray and to fully trust God – there is a godly lesson in every trial or challenge. You have got to yearn to grow from one level to another because when the devil is looking for people to devour, he looks for those that have failed to grow or those who are spiritually retarded. Many people have backslid after spending so many years in salvation because they have never taken time to personally know the God of salvation; because every time a trial, problem or challenge kicks in, they think of going back to Egypt (to their old way of life). 

Followers to Disciples

We read in the bible that Jesus had followers - the one hundred twenty (Acts1:15); and the seventy (Luke 10:1), and the twelve disciples (Mark 3); but one crowd of followers left (John 6:66). Those followers are a representation of some believers in this generation. The seventy wanted to be ordered and instructed to do certain things in the name of Jesus. They boasted in Luke 10:17 (NKJV); “Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” But Jesus corrected them in Luke 10:20 (NKJV) that; “do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” Such people like the seventy mentioned above only want to serve God so that they can be seen as if they are in show business and when they feel like they are not noticed, they will either leave church or ministry.

After a group of followers forsook Jesus, the bible says in John 6:67 (NLT) that; “Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?” But Simon Peter responded in John 6:68-69 (NLT) saying; “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. 69 We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.” The twelve had matured in knowing Christ and had grown from being followers of Christ to His disciples – they didn’t leave because they had a vivid revelation of who Christ was. Many people know about God, few people know him and fewer people know him and do his will. In which category are you? We need to help ourselves grow from just being followers to disciples. You have to grow to a level where you can make wise decisions and godly confessions. We have a common scripture in Habakkuk 3:17-18 (AMP) that says; “Though the fig tree does not blossom and there is no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive fails And the fields produce no food, Though the flock is cut off from the fold And there are no cattle in the stalls, 18 Yet I will [choose to] rejoice in the Lord; I will [choose to] shout in exultation in the [victorious] God of my salvation!” When one grows to that level of discipleship even amidst challenges, trials or persecution, they remain unshaken in their faith.

A person who is spiritually immature only wants to hear and do what pleases him or her; the bible says in 2 Timothy 4:3 (NLT) that; “For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.” That is the behavior of a follower; they only want to hear certain things like; take that, receive that; for they hate sound and wholesome teaching. When one grows he must be able to seek God and wait upon him in prayer like Habakkuk 2:1 (TLB) says; “I will climb my watchtower now and wait to see what answer God will give to my complaint.” 

Spiritual Home and Father

Hebrews 13:17 (AMP) - “Obey your [spiritual] leaders and submit to them [recognizing their authority over you], for they are keeping watch over your souls and continually guarding your spiritual welfare as those who will give an account [of their stewardship of you]. Let them do this with joy and not with grief and groans, for this would be of no benefit to you.”

Being pastored and having a spiritual home is a fundamental spiritual growth principle in Salvation. As Christians we need to have a local church or Spiritual home where we belong. You can find a believer who has been born again for quite a long time but spiritually immature and ignorant of the mysteries of God’s kingdom. Not having a spiritual home and spiritual father to whom you submit is one of the things that can lead to spiritual immaturity. Today in church we have a lot of spiritual vagabonds who do not belong anywhere because every month they belong to a different church.

Some believers do not grow because they do not have a spiritual home and father who can nurture and protect them spiritually - in order to grow spiritually, you need to belong somewhere. Just like earthly fathers, you cannot have more than one spiritual father, and very few people know what it means to have a spiritual father. When you are pastored, you have a covering upon you i.e. problems and afflictions don’t hit you directly because you are under protection. A Christian who will grow and bear fruit needs to be pastored. You need a spiritual father, who will nurture you to growth; who will be able to hold your hand when you fall, edify and counsel you. 

Maturity Produces Endurance

Some Christians are still immature to the point that they only love those who love them. But the bible says in Luke 6:32 (NLT) that; “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them” That is another area where we need to grow – learning to love the way Christ loved. Forgiveness is another key area in which we need to grow into the likeness of Christ. When God was not happy with the world, he descended down and came to be with us on earth. We need to grow and learn from Christ. Do not wait for those who have wronged you to come to you – that’s carnal and not for the spiritually mature Christian. The grace of God - divine enablement is what can help you to act maturely in particular scenarios, and you can only get if you seek God in Spirit and truth.

A mature person will endure a lengthy challenging situation and, their faith and trust in God will not be tainted. Such a person has the ability to be in a difficult or challenging situation either at work or even in marriage but those around are not able to know what he or she going through - they are able to cover up for Christ and look up to God for redemption. In good and in bad, God remains their Lord and Saviour!

There are times you will pray and God will wipe away your problems, however, not all problems will be removed by prayer; there are times when God will not necessarily remove the problem (because of his own will), but will give you the grace and strength to be able to go through it. Jesus also went through this. He cried out when the pain was too much at the cross. He cried out in Matthew 26:39 (NLT); “…..My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”  But God didn’t remove the cup of suffering and pain; and if Christ was able to endure and overcome, then we can also do the same. God gave him the grace to go through the crucifixion though he did not want it. And amidst the pain, he was able to forgive those who persecuted him (Luke 23:34) – that’s an act for only the mature in Spirit

There are some blessings we have not received because we are still immature spiritually. God will not release these blessings till we have grown to be able to possess them. We are all aware that you can only drive a vehicle according to the class of your permit otherwise you will have committed an offense. There are blessings that God will not give you until you have grown spiritually. God is holding back some things from you because he knows that once you receive them, you can be destroyed by them, misuse them or turn back to your former ways because you haven’t grown to be able to handle them. God takes us step by step as he molds our character by life circumstances until we can grow to ably possess that which he has in stock for us.

Maturity helps us to make good decisions and to go through difficult situations even if God has not yet shown himself; we do not quit but hold fast with faith and hope knowing and believing that He is present. When you grow spiritually, your character is calibrated to be able to endure difficult situations, make good decisions and confess positively. God’s desire is for us to grow in knowing Him and in getting a revelation of His word, which will eventually enable us to grow spiritually and be able to make wise and godly decisions.

May you grow in being more like Christ!