INTRODUCTION

Author: Pastor Johan du Toit

Overview

Growing up spiritually is much like growing up in the natural ‐ it is a long process that may at times be painful. Although giving birth in the natural may be a very intense experience, raising those children is much more prolonged and demanding.   It takes only a few hours to be born, but years for us to grow to maturity.

Growing up spiritually is no different.   When we receive the Lord Jesus Christ into our lives, we are born again into the kingdom of God as spiritual infants. We go through much the same process of growing up as we do in the natural. Spiritual infants need much attention and help; they are easily offended and become tired of the faith walk very quickly.   They are also vulnerable through their lack of discernment and will receive anything that looks Christian, and live thereby. They do not know the difference between good and evil, and are very easily distracted and deceived.

During the first while after salvation Christians are very naïve, but as we continue to feed on the Word, attending a church where we receive good teaching and guidance and fellowship with believers of like precious faith, we gradually grow up in the knowledge of the Lord.

Believers who do not invest in their own spiritual growth by becoming faithful in the things of the Lord fail to grow and quickly stagnate. This is sad, coming far short of what God intended for them. We should always stretch ourselves to become all that the Lord created us to be, and encourage new Christians that we know to do the same. There are many people who accept the Lord but never grow, never advancing beyond the knowledge and understanding of a spiritual infant despite becoming well advanced in natural years. This sets a very bad example in the Kingdom of God, and a dangerous one. These people are often seen as mature because they are wrongly judged by their outward appearance, and many follow them for that reason and become deceived, or copy a lifestyle that is not pleasing to God.

Spiritual infants should never be placed in a leadership role in the church. Before someone is given any responsibility as a leader anywhere in the church, he should have displayed some maturity by having overcome some babyhood type of troubles. Believers that are easily offended, or withdraw or succumb to the flesh in a time of adversity do not qualify for leadership!

Being born again is one thing, but growing up is equally important. We cannot spend all our days as infants! In this course we want to take a look at the process of our spiritual growth.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

DEFINITIONS

Terms	Definitions
Mature	Become fully grown or developed.
Cultivating	Try to acquire or develop.
Teachable	Capable of being instructed, as a person.
Discernment	The ability to judge well.

SPIRITUAL BABYHOOD

The Bible talks about spiritual babyhood in different places.

I Peter 2:2 NKJV 
As new-born babes, desire the pure milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby. 

Just as babies drink milk to grow and become strong, the Word gives us the milk that we need to grow spiritually. In the natural we feed our bodies three times a day, but often neglect our spirit‐man by denying him the spiritual food that he needs to grow.

Matthew 4:4 NKJV 
But He answered and said, “It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'” 

We may be very wise in the affairs of the world, but be spiritual infants if we fail to feed on the Word regularly. Paul, teaching on spiritual gifts and their operation in the church, says:

I Corinthians 14:20 NKJV
Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature.

Nobody arrives in God’s kingdom a mature person; we all need to grow up by feeding constantly on the Word.

As we grow up, we make many mistakes; we stumble and fall and yield to the flesh by doing things the way we did before we met Christ. When we stumble in something we do not have to be saved again ‐ you cannot be born again, again! We already became children of God through Jesus Christ; all we have to do when we committed any kind of sin is to confess it to the Father. When we sin our relationship with him doesn’t change ‐ we are still His children, but our fellowship becomes strained because sin stands between us and God. When we confess that sin to him ‐ which He knows about anyway ‐ the obstacle is removed and our fellowship is restored.

I John 1:9 NKJV
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The verse above is often used when people are led to accept the Lord, but it really doesn’t apply to sinners because it was written for God’s children!

1. Getting to Know the Father

As we grow up we learn to walk in fellowship with our Father in heaven and to please Him. We are dependent on Him and cannot become alienated from Him through broken fellowship. Getting acquainted with the Father is part of growing up spiritually! We need to know the true character of God, that He is a loving Father who loves to give good gifts to His children and loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son to die for us all. Religion brought us a distorted perception of God, depicting Him as someone cruel who is always ready to punish us and rob us of a good life. Nothing could be further from the truth!

Job 22:21,22 NKJV 
Now acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace; thereby good will come to you. Receive, please, instruction from His mouth, and lay up His words in your heart. 

As new Christians grow up around us, we should be available to help them as they learn to walk with God. Many babies in Christ fall by the wayside and drop out of the faith walk simply because there was no one to help them when they stumbled or got offended. Some understanding of what they are going through and reaching out to them may have eternal results! A caring, understanding Christian close to a spiritual infant is a source of strength and wisdom to them. They need encouragement all the time.

2. Getting Acquainted With the New Man

An all-too-common error churches make is to fail to teach new Christians about the new creation. It is important for us to know that we have become new creations in Christ Jesus when we surrendered our lives to the Lord; we did not get our old life fixed or patched up ‐ we received a brand-new man on the inside!

II Corinthians 5:17 NKJV
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

While our spirit was born again when our old nature died, our mind is still the same. Our minds do not get born again, but must be renewed by the Word of God. As we read the Word we see more and more who and what this new creation is, and what God has freely given to it. We discover our new selves in the Word, as it were. You have to get acquainted with the new you or you will continue to think the old way and live the old way!

Romans 12:2 NKJV 
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 

Colossians 3:9,10 NKJV 
Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him. 

James 1:21 NKJV 
Therefore, lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted Word, which is able to save your souls. 

Note that the above verses were written to believers ‐ people who were already born again; their spirits were renewed, but not their minds. The renewing of the mind is a long process; it does not happen in a moment like the new birth.

As we study the Word, we should look out for passages where we are taught about the new creation so that we may become acquainted with the new creation that we have become. Unless this is done, our walk with God will not be much different from our walk in the world. We will remain a spiritual infant and have the same lifestyle, the same struggles as before. There are countless of Christians in that category today! They are ignorant, live in defeat, and are unable to be effective witnesses of the Lord. This is not what God had in mind when He planned our redemption from the curse of sin!

As we grow in the truth about ourselves as a new creation, we mature as sons and daughters of God and partake of all the benefits of our redemption.

3. Forgetting the Past

One of the first things a new Christian must learn is to forget the past. So many “older” Christians are still living under the influence of the past and have failed to grow up. The Bible clearly teaches us that we have become new creations in Christ Jesus and those old things have passed away (II Cor. 5:17). Some cannot forget what they have done or what others have done to them. They become prisoners of the past and unable to embrace the future. We cannot change the past, but we can change the future! Let bygones be bygones. Every time a thought of the past comes to haunt us, we should say, “The person that happened to died. He is not around anymore.” We have become new creations in Christ! Old things (sins, offenses, bad memories, etc.) have passed away, behold, all things have become new!

Instead of reminding ourselves of the bad in our past, we should focus on who we have become in Christ and find out what has been freely given to us by God (I Cor. 2:12).

Digging into the past has no benefits whatsoever! God forgot all our sins, and there is no reason why we should remember them. A Christian has no past. Going back to the past over and over again is not a way to make a journey. We have a destiny to journey towards, and that journey is in the future.

Philippians 3:12‐14 NKJV 
Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.   Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 

The Bible tells us what to mediate on, but nowhere ever does it teach us to go back to the past or dwell on things of the past.

Read Psalm 1

Philippians 4:8 NKJV 
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy ‐ meditate on these things. 

Colossians 3:1‐3 NKJV 
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things that are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 

4. Cultivating a Teachable Spirit

As we enter into newness of life, a teachable spirit will be of the utmost importance for spiritual growth. We all need much teaching, and always will.   We can never reach a stage where we don’t need teaching anymore. Teaching in the Word is our spiritual food, and we need it on a regular basis. The Lord put ministers in the church to do just that. Nobody ever knows it all!

We will come back this later on, but all teaching that we hear must be traced back to the Word.

Ephesians 4:11,12 NKJV
And He himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ....

A teachable spirit will receive instruction and cause us to mature in the things of God. Ignorance of the truth is the most vicious enemy of the Christian; it robs us of the benefits of the household of God, which is why so many live as beggars and paupers ‐ they simply don’t know what they have!

The worst form of ignorance is the one that thinks he knows it all. Such a person will not receive any new light because they has already made up their mind and closed the door to any new knowledge that the Lord may want to add to them.

Proverbs 16:25 NKJV 
There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. 

Proverbs 9:9 NKJV
Give instruction to wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.

Proverbs 12:15 NKJV 
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise. 

Proverbs 19:20 NKJV 
Listen to counsel and receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter days. 

Allow the Word to mold you by being pliable in your attitude towards the teaching of the Word.

5. Acquiring Discernment

Any infant lacks discernment; they will put anything in their mouths, even if it is dangerous. Spiritual infants are no different: they will devour any “Christian” book or sermon or television show, but the truth is that not everything that comes labelled as “Christian” is good food ‐ there are many so called “Christian” books that were written by ignorant people. New Christians must be guided by mature ones who will take care of them in spiritual things. It is easy to use Scripture out of context and sow confusion and teach untruth to the undiscerning. We cannot swallow everything that comes our way!

Discernment grows with knowledge of the Word. Many people think they have the “gift” of discernment, but discernment is based on the Word, not feelings!

6. Spoiled Children

Like any other family or household, the household of God has some brats ‐ Christians that became spoiled because they have never been taught be dependent on the Father, not on people.   They require constant attention, and if they don’t get it, they make a lot of noise and cause a scene. Some want to be at the center of attention in everything that takes place: they want to be the bride at the wedding and the corpse at the funeral. These are symptoms of immaturity!

As we grow up, we begin to understand purpose, and that everybody has to be busy fulfilling their own. There is no need to fight for positions and things that other people do or have, as their purpose is different from ours. The race we run is against ourselves, not others ‐ we aspire to become the best that we can be without comparing ourselves with others.

Spiritual infants are easily distracted, easily frustrated and easily offended. As long as these are issues that we have trouble with, we should know that we have not yet outgrown the infancy stage of our walk with the Lord. Some people think they are mature because they have responsibilities in the natural world, or are mature in years, and have developed an unteachable attitude. We are all born

into the Kingdom as spiritual infants, and must grow strong by feeding on the Word and fellowshipping     with believers as much as we can!

CHILDHOOD

After babyhood comes childhood ‐ the growth process can be slow sometimes. The more we feed on the Word and fellowship with believers of like precious faith, the faster we will grow. The Bible also talks about spiritual childhood.

Ephesians 4:14 NKJV
...that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting...  

Once again, spiritual childhood compares well with physical childhood. Children know a little more than infants, but not enough to make it on their own. Some parents leave important decisions to their children, but without enough relevant information they cannot choose wisely. It is no different with spiritual children ‐ their knowledge is just not enough to leave them on their own; they need to be around established believers to learn from their example.

1. Unsteadiness

In the verse above we see that instability is a symptom of childhood. Children are easily swayed by everything they hear, especially if it sounds a bit mystical. The new life in Christ is very exciting, and they are looking for all kinds of adventures, as children love to do. Often these adventures involve all kinds of experiences that are not Scriptural and cause them to be ‘carried about and tossed to and fro.’

Something else that we see in unstable, immature Christians is that they love to roam ‐ from one church to the next, receiving all kinds of teaching that confuse them more than anything else. This is not way to grow! We have to find our place in the Body of Christ and grow there, become established and gain some knowledge and strength so that we may be of service there. Commitment to a church is a sign of maturity. We can never become responsible for anything if we keep on moving around all the time! No good pastor will ever entrust a position of responsibility to a roamer!

As we grow in the Lord we must put down our roots somewhere and continue on to bear fruit there. Nobody takes a Christian nomad seriously!

2. Curiosity

The reason why people roam around and fall around between churches is often because they are curious. Children are curious by nature. In the church we find spiritual children ‐ although they may be mature physically ‐ who are always interested in other peoples’ affairs. If they do not learn to focus on their own affairs, they become busybodies and never grow up to become responsible in some way.

Curiosity also leads them into things that may not be good to them: some open up to cults such as the Jehovah Witnesses or Mormons because they are gullible and curious, and are led astray. It is wise to stick to a healthy diet in a Word‐teaching church where people live wisely in obedience to the Word.

3. Talkativeness

Children love to talk all the time. They speak before they think and keep everybody busy listening to them. The Bible teaches us that it is wise to be quiet!

Proverbs 13:15,16 NKJV 
Good understanding gains favor, but the way of the unfaithful is hard. Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool lays open his folly. 

Proverbs 14:33 NKJV
Wisdom rests in the heart of him who has understanding, but what is in the heart of fools is made known.

Proverbs 17:27,28 NKJV 
He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding is of a calm spirit. Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; when he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive. 

The ignorant asks many questions. This is a good thing, much can be learned that way, but the kind of questions asked reveals that person’s level of spiritual maturity. When we are quiet, we are able to listen more ‐ and learn more!

4. Irresponsibility

Because children are irresponsible, they sometimes do foolish things that can cause a lot of damage to themselves and others. Before they can be trusted with responsibility, they need to show some understanding in that area. You do not give responsibility to a child simply because it is a favorite of yours!

In the church we cannot burden people who are still spiritual infants with too much responsibility. Paul warned the young Timothy against this danger:

I Timothy 3:6 NKJV
...not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil.

I Timothy 5:22 NKJV 
Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people’s sins; keep yourself pure. 

Children in general have more zeal than wisdom, and it is no different with spiritual children. Unwise people, unskilled in the Word, cannot be raised to levels of responsibility as it will not only hurt them, but all who fall under him as well.

Hebrews 5:14 NKJV 
But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. 

ADULTHOOD

Growing up into mature, strong, responsible, knowledgeable and wise followers of the Lord is God’s dream for every Christian. Unfortunately, the church has not focused on leading people into spiritual maturity at all. The result is that we have filled our churches, even leadership positions, with people that are immature. The consequences are frightening to say the least!

The Bible gives us the character traits of the spiritually mature, and we will look into some of them ‐ both as a learning exercise and as a way to measure our own growth in the Lord.

I Corinthians 13:11 NKJV
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 

Mature Christians think and act differently from spiritual children! The first thing they do when they grow up is to put away childish things.

1. The Ability to Discern

Discernment is a characteristic of maturity, both in natural and spiritual things.

Hebrews 5:14 NKJV 
But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. 

Gullibility is major problem amongst Christians. Some are so naïve that they accept everything that has a Christian color; they will believe everything that is written in a book simply because it looks like a Christian book, or is said on a Christian television program, or is the hot topic of the day. Very few actually go to the Bible to see what it says about that topic, which means they do not exercise any discernment; or they rely on their natural senses.   Some think that they are mature simply because they have been around for any length of time, but it is not the number of years which determines our ability to discern accurately, but our knowledge of the truth of the Word.

Hebrews 4:12 NKJV
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two‐edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

The Word of God is the discerner, and will reveal to us the thoughts and intents of the hearts. Walking in the Word is the only way to grow up in the Word. Just knowing the Word is not enough! Any parrot can repeat anything that it has learned, but the real test is applying it successfully in our lives.

Just as infants will put anything into their mouths, spiritual infants swallow anything that is presented to them. The interesting thing is that while infants must often be forced to eat what is good for them, they will put anything that is dangerous in their mouths and swallow it. The spiritual life is no different! Numerous pet doctrines that go around these days find more willing people than they can handle, but God’s children are slow to receive the good food that they can grow by and become strong and effective witnesses of the new life in Christ.

I Peter 2:2 NKJV 
As new-born babes, desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby... 

We develop sound discernment as we feed on the Word continuously; we come to know the difference between what is truth and what just looks like truth. Counterfeits are made to deceive and usually contain enough elements of the truth to fool the ignorant and gullible.

John 8:32 NKJV 
And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 

How shall we know that truth that is able to set us free?   The answer is in the verse just prior to the one above:

John 8:31 NKJV 
If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 

When the Word lives inside of us, we will be able to recognize both truth and deception when we see or hear it.

2. Responsibility

Just as irresponsibility is a character trait of childhood, responsibility is a sign of adulthood. Responsibility is the ability to recognize our role in the bigger picture. Selfishness, which is something of our childhood, only focuses on self. Children fight over toys because they only think of themselves. As we grow up, we begin to assume some responsibilities for ourselves.   Things that our parents used to do for us, we now do ourselves. We even begin to do some chores around the house without being told. As we enter adulthood we relieve our parents of their care‐taking responsibilities and buy our own clothes and food, pay our own rent and buy our own cars.

As mature Christians we need to find our place in the body of Christ, the church, and become responsible there. We need to bring relief to our fellow laborer’s from the pressures of ministry by offering our own energy, gifts and talents to the church so that growth and expansion can take place. Nobody was called to be a pew‐warmer.

God expects of us as mature sons to get involved in His kingdom as children get involved in their father’s business when they grow up.

Maturity also qualifies us to take possession of our inheritance. So many of God’s children lack the fulfilment of His promises simply because they lack the responsibility to handle them. If we do not grow our capacities, we will never be able to manage more than we do now. And mismanagement will cause things to be taken away from us.

Luke 12:42 NKJV 
And the Lord said, “Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season?” 

Good stewardship leads to promotion because it is a sign of maturity. Chaos reigns where children are in charge!

Matthew 25:14,15 NKJV 
For the kingdom of heaven is like a man travelling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability... 

He gave to each according to his own ability. God knows our abilities, and if we have the ability of a child, He can only trust us with the things of a child.

Galatians 4:1 NKJV
Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all...

God has some awesome promises for us, but we must prove to Him that we have the capacities and maturity to be good stewards in His household before He will entrust us with those things!

3. The Love-Walk

Walking in love is probably one of the most important signs of spiritual maturity. Children are far too concerned about themselves to think about others. The love‐walk concentrates on others more than self. To love God’s way is only for the mature! Loving with God’s kind of love encompasses many things.

• Forgiveness. The ability to forgive comes with maturity. The pain, discomfort, anger, etc. that come with an offense are often too much to put aside for the immature because of unrealistic expectations, inability to understand things in context, personal feelings, own interests, etc. It takes a measure of maturity to set aside those things and move on with your life without holding a grudge. People often hurt others because they are victims themselves, but the immature doesn’t think that far.
• Giving. Giving to others of ourselves, our time, our substance, our knowledge and experiences to help them, is a way to express the love of God to those in need. It shows responsibility in the family of God.

Romans 15:1‐3 NKJV 
We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.” 

Taking care of new Christians, mentoring them and helping them in their growing pains is showing the love of God to them. Jesus once asked Peter if he loved Him, and every time he replied that he did, Jesus told him to show it to His sheep. Three times in a row! Our love for the Lord, for a great part, is shown in our response to those around us in the household of faith.

4. Esteeming Earthy Things Lightly

It takes maturity in the spirit to weigh our spiritual lives and our natural lives accurately. Some cannot understand that the spiritual is more important than the natural. We grew up with the understanding that a good church is better than a good job ‐ you don’t leave a town where there is a good church to find a better job in a town where is no good church.

Esteeming earthly things lightly is to view things in the light of eternity. Some people stay away from church as a rule because they find sports, work, family, leisure activities, etc. more important than being edified and taught spiritually. They usually suffer shipwreck of their faith sooner or later, and face eternal consequences for their foolishness. Some see their families fall apart, and then wonder why things turned against them.

Jesus set the example for us:

Hebrews 12:1,2 NKJV 
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

Children only care about today ‐ how good and pleasant and how much fun they can have today without thinking of the consequences that will come tomorrow. Wisdom, that comes with maturity, has its eyes on the future ‐ right up into eternity. There is a willingness to go without today for a better tomorrow. What we are today is because of what we fed on yesterday and our children will become what we allow them feed on today.

God wants us to have all the good things that come with living in His household ‐ all the blessing, the prosperity, the joy, the fun, etc. ‐ but His main objective is for us grow up looking like Him. If we fall in love with the blessing more than the Blesser, we are misdirected and still in spiritual infancy.

5. Deadness to Criticism or Praise

Galatians 1:10 NKJV 
For do I now persuade men, or God?  Or do I seek to please men?   For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. 

We cannot become dependent on the accolades of men for it will disqualify us as servants of Christ. The praises of man are addictive and leads to bondage. We are here to please Him, not man. Walking among the children of God is not a popularity contest!

When we seek to please men ‐ whether it be our parents, church leaders or members ‐ we place ourselves under their influence and our ears will be more open to hear them than the voice of God. This is dangerous and certainly not fitting for the mature in Christ.

The praises of men puff up and leads to arrogance and pride, but submission to the Lord to humility. Self‐consciousness is a sign of selfishness, and such people are always looking for approval of others instead of God. Walking in the will of God is never easy; He may require some hard things from us that people will never approve of, because they do not walk in your purpose, but the mature in spirit knows the voice of the Lord and is quick to respond obediently just as Jesus did during His walk on earth.

John 5:41 NKJV 
I do not receive honor from men. 

Jesus told those Jews that He did not come to receive praises from them. He did many good things for many people, but He did it in obedience to the Father and not to receive man’s approval.   This kept Him pure and able to finish His mission to the glory of God.

6. Walking With the Father

During his entire walk on the earth Jesus always sought to do the will of His Father. This He could only do because He found Himself in His presence all the time. He never did anything on His own. The secret of His power was not that He came as the Son of God, for He walked on earth as a man, but that He was in constant contact with His Father. He drew from the Source all the time: wisdom, power, love, etc.

John 5:19,20 NKJV
Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.”

Jesus never lacked anything during His walk on the earth; all His needs were taken care of. He could feed thousands in the desert, pay His taxes as well as Peter’s, take care of the disciples, and was clothed in the best robe.  He showed us how to walk with the Father!

Matthew 6:31,32 NKJV
Therefore, do not worry, saying ‘what shall we eat?’ or ‘what shall we drink?’ or ‘what shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek.  For you heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

When infants need things, they cry to attract attention to their need, but as they grow up they learn how help themselves to the provisions of their parents. They go the fridge and help themselves, knowing that their parents provided for them. Walking with our heavenly Father is no different! Instead of always praying about our personal needs, we learn how to receive from the wealth of promises that He made. We receive from the Source. Infant Christians spend their prayer lives asking for their needs to be met, and often that is the only time they talk with the Father. They have no idea that the Father wants us to have their needs met so that they can go about His business, unable to see beyond their own little world.

Walking with the Father raises our confidence in Him as our Provider and Protector. We become acquainted with His character and love and power. It quiets our fears and suspicions.   God ordained for us to walk by faith, instead of by sight, looking at circumstances and threats and things that come against us in the natural. The Word brings us revelation of who He really is, a picture very different from the one painted by religion. The more we read the Word, we more we see Him as He really is.

STABILITY OF LIFESTYLE

Ephesians 4:14,15 NKJV
... that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love may grow up in all things into Him who is the head ‐ Christ. 

Children are easily tossed to and fro by whatever comes their way. They believe almost anything they see and hear, and they change their moods accordingly. This is the unstable walk of the immature in Christ. They believe all things that people say, their faith depends on their mood of the day and how things work out for them. They are up one day, at the top of the word, and down the next. You never know where to find them: on the mountain top or down there in the dark valley of despair and despondency. When they are up there, they want to teach everybody how-to walk-in victory and when they are down, you don’t see them. This is not how God intended for us to live!

Paul says the way to grow up is to sit under the ministry of the gifts that the Lord Himself gave to the church. People who stay away for any reason are unstable in their walk; they are confused, frustrated, ignorant and weak in their faith and lacking many things. They do not know how to get the victory when a trial hits them because they have become weak for a lack of good spiritual food.

James 1:2‐8 NKJV
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.  But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double‐minded man, unstable in all his ways.

It takes quite a level of maturity to count a trial all joy! That kind of understanding ‐ that God can turn anything around for good ‐ is not for the novice. This kind of faith is found only in the mature, but doubting God and His care for us is nothing than double‐mindedness and instability.

Hebrews 11:6 NKJV
...for he who comes to God must know that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Unreliable, unstable Christians are the tragedy of our times. They break the heart of the Father and their spiritual leaders. It is hard on those who lead the church.   One day the church is full, the next time you wonder where the people are. Their instability of lifestyle takes them to all kinds of places as they are led by their senses instead of being responsible adults in Christ who know that they are depended upon.

Romans 8:19 NKJV
For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.

The sons of God that creation is waiting for are not infant sons. There are millions of them around the world! The expectation is for the mature sons of God: those who have become acquainted with the Father, who are ready to rule and reign with Him.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Hagin, K. E. (n.d.). Growing Up Spiritually.

Nelson, T. (1982). The New King James Version Bible. Thomas Nelson.