Randy Bell
29 Nov 2021

Kingdom Life Principles

Randy Bell | What is Spiritual Growth? (read)

Acts 2:41-42 (NKJV)

Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

We find in the book of Acts the birth of Christian Life. The church was started with a big bang [the supernatural presence of the Holy Spirit] and with one sermon by Peter where 3000 people were saved and added to the church. To figure out how these new Christians were matured we have to look carefully to what the apostles did in their leadership and training.

Maturing is the growing up process a child goes through to become an adult. The spiritual maturing process is similar in that it is the changing of the new born baby Christian into a a mature adult saint. This simply means a person’s character so changes that they focus on what is important to Jesus Christ their Lord. It is such a radical change that what God gets excited about, they get excited about. What makes God sad, makes them sad. This effects all our being; mind, will and emotions. It covers all our motives, thoughts, attitudes, and actions.

Babies Are Born Self-centered

A baby is so self absorbed it does not know when it is naked.  It does not know what other people think or feel. It does not care about anyone else. Instead, it wants food when hungry, warmth when cold, attention when bored, changing when wet, etc. The baby only thinks of itself.

Maturity Changes All That

As parents raise their children, one of the processes they develop in them is the change from selfishness to adult mature thinking, you know, loving and caring for others. They give them chores to teach them many character traits. They force them to help with dishes and cleaning up the house. They teach them to wash clothes and clean the garage. This same way of maturing is necessary for all Christians.

Just like good, healthy family life matures children, good, healthy church family life matures believers. This is important to understand. A family does not need fancy health and fitness training, family reunions every week with tons of relatives, super expensive vacations every month, meetings with family relationship experts monthly, or financial management training every other day to be successful. A church does not have to be a mega-church of endless programs, shows, and exciting meetings to be successful either.

For a Christian to grow spiritually, four solid commitments must be made.  This is possible in any size church and just as fruitful. Every Christian must steadfastly commit themselves to

1) the apostles’ doctrine

2) fellowship

3) breaking bread together and

4) prayer together.

The church you are apart of does not have to have Sunday School classes, youth groups, children’s church, super programs, high class music ministries, seeker sensitive services, people in fancy robes, fun-filled picnics or air conditioned buildings. The first church did not have any of these things. God was not concerned with all these things.

What He is concerned with is His process of spiritual growth. Man is concerned about the other stuff.

If you want to grow spiritually, or you want your children to grow spiritually you just need to follow the four commitments. Home schoolers have proven that you do not need all the fancy stuff to educate children, but American Christians are obsessed with the fancy stuff: big shows, big buildings, and big activities.

The first requirement is to fully commit to the apostles’ doctrine. So we need to ask a simple question, “What is the apostles’ doctrine?” Today people are even afraid of the word “doctrine.” Let’s look into the Bible for God’s will in this matter.

Matthew 28:19-20

19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20 “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

The apostles taught the kingdom message that was taught to them in the gospels by Jesus [Matthew – John]. “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” becomes clear when you look at the sermon on the mount [Matthew 5-7]. So the first commitment is to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness …” You become an all out, 100% supporter, worker, and ambassador for God’s kingdom. You read, discuss, and learn what God commands you to know and understand so that you can obey Him completely.

You must place yourself into the right environment that will help you grow up, begin the process of spiritual growth by working through the seven steps to spiritual maturity.

Next, is fellowship, a steadfast commitment to hanging with, working with, caring for, and supporting your new church family. You learn to be tighter than friends, and as family members, expand God’s kingdom. Teamwork is the environment God wants the family to grow spiritually through. It is so hard to get Americans to commit to this. Most want to come see and hear the show and then go home. This is disobedient and stagnating to spiritual growth. “…exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. [Hebrews 13:3]

You must be committed and involved to grow.

Thirdly, we must always meet together in communion. 1 Corinthians 11 explains the importance of this event and also shows why it is a spiritual growth tool. “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.” (v28) We must constantly examine ourselves. Remember how a doctor examines a patient, he probes and pokes. He looks for hidden signs of problems. This same procedure is just as important for all to grow spiritually and root out sin.

Finally, without a steadfast commitment to group prayer meetings you will not reach maturity. God promises “…where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” The Father is so concerned about group prayer He makes it clear He gives special blessing to those who obey. Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” We all learn to depend on God as a family. The young watch the older ones.

So… now I have to ask, do you really want to grow? Well, if you do not devote yourself to firmly follow these four commitments that the early church did follow, YOU WILL NOT MATURE! You will not find yourself transformed. It is time to stop making excuses. Come follow Jesus!

 

Randy Bell
29 Nov 2021

Narrow Road Insights

Randy Bell | Who Is Satan? (read)

The Devil, Satan, Lucifer… who is he?

Ezekiel 28:11-19 (NKJV)

Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: the sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created.

“You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you. “By the abundance of your trading you became filled with violence within, and you sinned; therefore I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God; and I destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones.

“Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, that they might gaze at you.

“You defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, by the iniquity of your trading; therefore I brought fire from your midst; it devoured you, and I turned you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all who saw you. All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you; you have become a horror, and shall be no more forever.”‘

The prophets of God in the Old Testament would always weave the present day messages God gave them with the invisible spiritual world reality. As you read Ezekiel’s prophecy, did you notice he spoke of two beings, but combined them together? He spoke of the king of the island kingdom, Tyre, and the spiritual being that was empowering this king also.

The king of Tyre did not live for thousands of years and dwell in Eden. He did not have precious stones built into his body. He was not created, but born. He was not a special angel of worship. The person being described is Lucifer.

Isaiah 14:9-17 (NKJV)

“Hell from beneath is excited about you, to meet you at your coming; it stirs up the dead for you, all the chief ones of the earth; it has raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. They all shall speak and say to you: ‘Have you also become as weak as we? Have you become like us? Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, and the sound of your stringed instruments; the maggot is spread under you, and worms cover you.’

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit. “Those who see you will gaze at you, and consider you, saying: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, Who made the world as a wilderness and destroyed its cities, who did not open the house of his prisoners?’

The prophet Isaiah spoke out against the king of Babylon just like Ezekiel did as he spoke out against the king of Tyre. Again he mixes the present condemnation to the wicked king and nation with the spiritual power behind them. Lucifer became Satan or the devil when he rebelled against God trying to throw off God’s authority and became the traitor, forever named the Adversary [Satan]. His character and sins show through the kings he empowers and controls.

Can he control nations and kings like that?

Matthew 4:8-11 (NKJV)

Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.'” Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

What kind of temptation would it be if I showed you a picture of the United States and said, if you bow to my leadership you can own America? You would laugh at me, because I do not own or control America. Jesus did not laugh! The clear teaching of this scripture is that Satan does have the ability to control empires of humans to do his will.

In fact he has more power than you might think!

Job 1:6-19 (NKJV)

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.” Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”

So Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? “Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. “But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”

So the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.”

So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house; and a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, when the Sabeans raided them and took them away– indeed they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels and took them away, yes, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

Satan sent a combination attack of two different peoples and a lightning storm to destroy Job’s kids and belongings. Does he have supernatural power? The Bible says he does!

In Revelation 20:3 the Bible makes it clear he has the power to deceive and manipulate the entire world. “…and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.”

So, I hope you think on how powerful this evil being is. He so deceives and controls people that Jesus told Jewish religious leaders of His day,  “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.” (John 8:44,45)

Think about it, since he hates God and tried to overthrow His kingdom, do you think he loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life? Do you think this powerful being is trying to cloud your mind and keep you from believing in and having a relationship with the all powerful God of the universe?

The apostle Paul told the Christians that lived in Greece that he does, and does it successfully! “…whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:4-6)

Matthew 25:32-46 (NKJV)
32  All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
33  And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
34  Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35  for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;
36  I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
37  Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?
38  When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?
39  Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
40  And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
41  Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:
42  for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink;
43  I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
44  Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’
45  Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’
46  And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Jesus Christ died for you on a cruel cross of torture 2000 years ago. He did it for you! You are blinded and disobey God’s Laws, refusing to allow God control of your life. This is what Satan does not want you to know or believe. But that can change right now.

Read the ten commandments of Exodus 20, then Galatians 5, and Ephesians 2. See your sin against God. Plead with God to open your eyes to see your crimes against God from His perspective. Admit them to Him, and plead forgiveness because Jesus fully paid for your wrong doing when He died. He arose from the dead and this proves God accepted His sacrifice in your place.

Repent [change your mind and follow His commands as given in the Bible], find a Bible and read it! Then, find real Christian friends and join with them in your new adventure of living in fellowship with God and pleasing your heavenly Father!

 

, ,