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Before you can benefit from 7 Steps 2 Maturity, you must first be certain that you are a real Christian.

You must be born again! Jesus made it clear by declaring, “I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is born again (anew, from above), he cannot ever see (know, be acquainted with, and experience) the kingdom of God.” [John 3:3 (AMP)]

There may be many voices in your life giving contradictory advice, but the only person who matters is God. His opinion is TRUTH. In fact, “Jesus said… I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by (through) Me.” [John 14:6 (AMP)]

Therefore understand, it is God alone, not me, that demands a miraculous rebirth must be experienced before anyone can get to heaven. You do know that the devil believes in God and is not going to heaven. Believing in God is not the same as being born again. Let me explain.

A long, long time ago the Creator of the Universe dealt with a rebellion in His kingdom. His close servant and trusted friend determined he would no longer take orders from God Almighty. One third of all His other subjects joined him in a mass rebellion that ended with them being cast out of heaven forever. They were temporarily placed into darkness, left for the time being, until they would be permanently placed into a terrible prison. This place was designed for them, not men. But later men also rebelled in the exact same way. So the Bible says, “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.” [Matt 25:41 (NKJV)].

So why is there a hell? It is very simple, for justice and fairness. God must punish crime in the same way that you understand murderers must be punished by our government. But, eternal beings must be given eternal punishment. Man was created by God and given life with the intention of living forever in direct contact and fellowship with Him.

So how does an eternal prison called hell affect you? By breaking God’s law people must face eternal punishment. Think of yourself driving down a street and entering a school zone while texting, and not watching the road. You look up after typing a long phrase too late to see a child in your path and you kill her. You failed to obey the law.

But in your perception you expect understanding from the police, after all, you “really” did not mean it! You stubbornly decide it was just an accident and you should be released after you say you are sorry. The parents should understand, right? But, the police come and arrest you for seriously breaking the law.

Your good attitude and intentions do not matter. Your past good life does not count even though all your friends believe you are a good person. And, all the good deeds of your past do not erase this one terrible negligence on your part. You now must face the judge. This one action, yes this one single event, changes everything in your life forever.

Your day in court comes and you face the parents of the dead little girl. The judge enters and calls everyone to attention and your crimes are read aloud for all to hear. You did not take this day seriously and decided to defend yourself without a lawyer. You have a decision to make. You ask to approach the bench and give the judge many compliments to butter him up. You then offer a deal. “I promise to wash your car everyday for the rest of my life if you will call it even.”

Angered the judge blurts out, “The girl’s life is worth far more than a car wash. How dare you insult this court and the child’s parents. Step back from me you wicked idiot!”

“Wait!’ you give a counter proposal. “I will give you a shoe shine each week. And cut the parent’s lawn twice a month.”

“You killed their child and you think that is fair?” screamed the judge.

Okay, okay I will give you $5000 and the parents $10,000, which is all I have!” You know that has to be a good deal and turn to get your debit card.

The judge firmly states, “Stop, there is only one thing valuable enough for your crime. Your life! You have cheapened life to mere money and little acts of kindness. Life is far too valuable. I sentence you to be executed.”

Most refuse to look at spiritual crime seriously. They expect God to understand. And false religion always tries to cheat just like this courtroom story. But just like the devil and all his demons we “… all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” [Romans 3:23 (NKJV)] We all have broken God’s laws. Sin is a criminal act of breaking the law of God and leaving the results of pain, hurt and destruction on others as real as killing that little girl. God hates all crime and does not want any person treated anyway except through love. God hates all disobedience to His law, because His law is the rule of how to love Him and others.

In God’s court He decides all crime has one verdict and punishment. “For the wages of sin is death” [Romans 6:23 (NKJV)]. Spiritual crime is so outrageous in God’s eyes He will not tolerate any weaker punishment than what He already levied against the devil and his angels. The reason is plain and simple. He has to be fair and just. He would be a crooked judge and a criminal himself if He favored anyone over Satan.

But false religion tries to bribe God for acceptance, blessings and eternal life. False believers try to earn their way to heaven. They think being a community organizer or helping poor people earns them the name of Christian. Some think joining a religion and doing some kind of ritual or spiritual activity is all that is needed.

Maybe being a nice person to everyone is good enough for God? In spite of God’s view of rebellion and sin, many think they get to heaven by being good people according to their judgment, and do not get serious about God’s moral law and rules. False religion tries to make a way to God in their way and by their terms.

But please consider this, a strict fundamental belief that God’s Word is the standard of right and wrong for all people, in every place, and for all time is not false religion. The Bible is absolute truth and God rules over the earth with His standards. Like it or not. For example, I was born in the U.S.A. and without my consent or choice must follow the authority and law of the land. In the exact same way, your Creator rules the universe and all nations and people fall under His laws and authority. Therefore, strong convictions that God’s Bible is absolutely true, and must be followed, is not false religion, but facing reality.

Everyone knows that there is a clear difference between law abiding citizens and active criminals here in America. Citizens are able and expected to obey the law. But criminals break the law and are punished, and their rights are removed by the judge. Well, the same is true for God’s Word and His Law. God expects you to obey His commands.

But remember God says all have sinned [committed crimes] and are guilty before Jesus, the Eternal Judge. Because the first man and woman rebelled against God, no one can fully follow God’s Law today because we are all born without the strength to obey it. Even so, God looks into our eyes and judges us guilty criminals by His just Laws from the Bible. We can’t get around this! So how can we become law abiding citizens in God’s eyes, when from birth we are nothing but rebels?

Let’s go back to our courtroom. If false religion tries to bribe the judge for release from punishment, what is true religion? After the judge gives the verdict of the death penalty, a clamour comes from behind you. In walks a man, and the judge asks, “What is it my son?”

“Father, I will give you my life instead of this guilty, wicked person standing before you. Then fairness will stand and your honor preserved. Life for a life, and the true value of the crime will be paid. Then the devil and all his slaves will never be able to point their fingers in your face and call you a hypocrite.”

The Judge loves His Son Jesus, but in mercy gives His approval. He allows His Son to be executed for your crime and the crimes of everyone because His son never broke the law in even a small way. He was totally innocent. Because He was innocent, He could be punished for others. This is true religion, justice fulfilled, but mercy given to guilty criminals.

But, He makes His ruling with a very narrow application. This gift of forgiveness will only be given with the following stipulations:

1/ No one who claims they are a good person, innocent of evil, will ever enter His eternal heaven. Only His Law will be the judgment of right and wrong, and His Law will expose their crimes, and their good intentions and motives will not matter.

“There is no one righteous, not even one. 11 There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away; all alike have become useless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one. 13 Their throat is an open grave; they deceive with their tongues. Vipers’ venom is under their lips. 14 Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 ruin and wretchedness are in their paths, 17 and the path of peace they have not known. 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.

19 Now we know that whatever the law says speaks to those who are subject to the law, so that every mouth may be shut and the whole world may become subject to God’s judgment. 20 For no one will be justified in His sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin ⌊comes⌋ through the law. [Romans 3:10-20 (HCSB)]

2/ When any person wanting a relationship with God, the Creator and Judge, approaches Him, they must begin on His terms not theirs. His will and nature are clearly revealed in the Holy Bible, nowhere else. To find God you do not need to search the world, you only need to read the Bible, His love letter to mankind.

You Must Turn Around And Follow Jesus

“Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” [John 14:6 (NLT)]

God will greatly help you here because the Holy Spirit works powerfully to show you your crimes. Be honest and face the truth about yourself. The Bible is clear and lists sin and remember God’s Word says,

“From that time Jesus began to preach, crying out, Repent ( change your mind for the better, heartily amend your ways, with abhorrence of your past sins), for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” [Matt 4:17 (AMP)]

“Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins, turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ to show that you have received forgiveness for your sins.” [Acts 2:38 (NLT)]

1/ THE LAW OF GOD MUST BE EXAMINED AND FACED JUST LIKE YOU WOULD IN A COURTROOM Why? because the law of God creates guilt

[Exodus 20, Matthew 5-7, Galatians 5, Ephesians 2]

“Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God.” [Romans 3:19 (NLT)]

“When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.” [Gal 5:19-21 (NLT)]

2/ RESPOND TO YOUR GUILTY VERDICT WITH FULL ADMISSION OF YOUR SPECIFIC CRIMES, FOLLOWED WITH DEEP SADNESS – Why? because guilt creates godly sorrow

“For godly grief and the pain God is permitted to direct, produce a repentance that leads and contributes to salvation and deliverance from evil, and it never brings regret; but worldly grief (the hopeless sorrow that is characteristic of the pagan world) is deadly [breeding and ending in death].“ [2 Cor 7:10 (AMP)]

3/ FULLY REPENT AND FOLLOW JESUS [JUST LIKE YOU ARE HIS SLAVE], WHO IS YOUR NEW LORD – Why? because only deep godly sorrow creates true repentance

““For godly grief and the pain God is permitted to direct, produce a repentance that leads and contributes to salvation…”

“Let the thief steal no more, but rather let him be industrious, making an honest living with his own hands, so that he may be able to give to those in need.” [Eph 4:28 (AMP)]

True repentance means first to stop your crime, and in our example of a thief, that is only the first step because this is only partial repentance. Next the Bible explains that the thief must get a job and earn his money. But if you stop here then this is still partial repentance because it does not deal with the heart of the sin, which is GREED. A greedy person steals and cheats, but a fearful or careful greedy person just works hard to stuff his own pockets without stealing. That is why the Bible explains that true and full repentance is only proven when the ex-thief makes a 180 and joyfully gives some of his hard earned money to needy people.

As you can see, true repentance means to stop your way of saying and doing things, change your mind on how you reason and make decisions, and leave your selfish lifestyle behind forever. Then, make the teachings of Jesus your new path in the future. This is the narrow road where you make it your one priority to please and obey Jesus Christ, your brand new boss. You must fully follow His doctrines, His commands, and His example. Repentance is turning away from EVERYTHING Christ says is wrong and evil, and embracing EVERYTHING He says is right and important to do.

Dear God,

I realize you are my Creator and Judge, the One who gives us all life, and the only one who is good and just. Because of this, you have the right to establish the law of right and wrong for the whole world and I now bow to your authority. I have broken your law in these ways _____________________________ [fill in the blank], and I am grieved and sorry for how I have acted.

Please forgive me! I accept your offer of forgiveness through Jesus dying in the place of my judgment. I now turn from all the crimes I am practicing, I have no excuses, and I am grateful for your mercy. I choose to follow You, my Lord Jesus by obedience to Your commandments all my days.

REMEMBER, YOU ARE EXPECTED TO LEAVE THE LIFE OF CRIME AND OBEY FROM THIS DAY FORWARD – THIS IS THE NARROW ROAD

Here are some important things to know. The big idea is your relationships with God, your family, friends, and neighbors. Begin with the basics.

1. “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.” [Matt 7:12 (NLT)] Make sure you act in love, do not react. God’s concern is that you think about what you would like from others. How do you want them to treat you? What do you want from others? Then do not wait, act first in love. Do you want people to talk to you or include you in activities? Don’t wait speak kindly to others no matter how they speak to you. Read the Bible and see how Jesus speaks, acts, and deals with people. Follow his lead.

2. Not everyone actually follows Jesus, don’t be discouraged. “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. 22 On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

3. God will be with you as you listen to Him and follow His teaching. 24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and ignores it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” [Matt 7:21-27 (NLT)]

4. Choose to love others even when they do not give love back to you. 37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment.39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” [Matt 22:37-40 (NLT)]

Make sure you understand this, all the Old Testament is the written instructions on how to fully love God and man. When you hate a person you steal from them, hurt them, lie to them and so on. But when you love God, you prove by obeying what He instructs. And you prove that you love others when you do what God instructs in His Word to do for others.

BUT WHAT IF I FAIL? OF COURSE YOU WILL FAIL MANY TIMES! BUT YOU WILL EXPERIENCE GOD’S MIGHTY GRACE THAT GIVES YOU NEW DESIRES AND STRENGTH TO OBEY YOUR NEW LORD SO TRUST HIM.

“My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. 2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world. 3 And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments.”

“4 If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. 5 But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. 6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.” [1 John 2:1-7 (NLT)]

Give yourself a break at first and remember you are a new baby in the faith. Don’t be discouraged, and do not let failure define who you are! You will find God’s strength because He gives His Holy Spirit to you and you gain the power to obey consistently. Give God time to work inside you, trust Him.

THIS IS IMPORTANT…

1. Read your Bible start with John and Matthew 5-7.

2. Find a church that teaches the Bible literally, because there you have friends that will help and encourage you. But be careful there are false preachers that will try to deceive you.

3. Get baptized to publicly pronounce your faith in Jesus.

4. Study the four phases of spiritual life and the seven steps to maturity for a solid foundation.

5. You can contact me through the website, KLPTV.ORG for any questions and/or if you just need a friend to help you on your spiritual journey.

Welcome to the Narrow Road!

Randy Bell

Email: randy@KLPTV.ORG

27 Jan 2017

Be Sure You Are Going To Heaven

What Happens To You When You Are Born Again?

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” [2 Corinthians 5:17]

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” [1 Thessalonians 5:23]

A born again person is someone who has a direct connection with Almighty God by receiving the Holy Spirit inside their human spirit through faith in Jesus Christ. They are new creatures by the revolutionary change that takes place inside them when the Holy Spirit enters their spirit, and this permanent transformation establishes them as adopted children of God.

Before new birth, the conscience of the human is clouded and dark without God’s presence emblazing the holy standards of His Law upon it. This is revealed in Acts 2:37 as Peter presses the Jews with the criminal charge of breaking God’s Law by murdering the Messiah. “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’” This event verifies that from outside of an unbelieving person the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit slams the Law into the human spirit, and cuts into the conscience!

God’s Word explains this in Hebrews 4:12,13. “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. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”

This means that God’s Law proves the case against you is true, and yes, you are guilty of the crimes God holds against you. The Holy Spirit mercifully influences your heart by pressing the truth of your sin into your conscience which brings guilt. The convicted sinner that is grieved over their sin and repents, seeks God’s forgiveness and receives the gift of salvation. New birth happens under this amazing grace through the nudges of God’s mercy and grace.

So what happens when you are born again? God promised, “I’ll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I’ll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that’s God-willed, not self-willed. 27 I’ll put my Spirit in you and make it possible for you to do what I tell you and live by my commands.” [Ezekiel 36:26-27 (MSG)]

First and foremost the miracle is real because the Holy Spirit enters the repentant sinner and makes him a new creation with a new spiritual heart and change begins.

Next, a river of life as Jesus promised in John 7:38 gushes into you, causing a chain reaction of events inside your spirit. This is the flood of grace that is His divine influence upon the heart that the Bible promises us. And God’s Word guarantees “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God…” [Romans 8:16 NKJV]

To grasp the impact and miraculous result of this event it is necessary that you understand some important things about the human spirit. First, under the old life, your spirit is dead to any connection to God because of your sin. Since faith operates from inside the human spirit, when the Spirit of God enters, the very first thing that happens is faith ignites causing you to believe [trust in, rely upon, and cling to] Jesus Christ as the one who died in your place for all the spiritual crimes you committed.

In real faith, not blind faith, He opens your eyes and you make a clear examination of the facts that Christ lived, died, and was resurrected from the dead; and He did it to pay for your crimes. It is by God’s divine influence on your spirit, and your response of faith alone, that you are even able to see and admit you broke the moral standards of God’s Law and turn to Him for forgiveness. Your dead and blind spirit needed God’s grace to spiritually awaken you and give you eternal life.

But once accomplished, how does He prove you are born again? How does He “bear witness with our spirit” so that we know we are Christians? Well, remember, a witness in a courtroom gives testimony and evidence. So when the Holy Spirit invades your spirit He brings life-changing evidence! This corroborating evidence is the divine grace that immediately flows from the All-Powerful God now inside the human spirit, flooding the born again Christian with new holy desires, energy, and strength to please God.

Like plugging a pinball machine into the electrical wall socket, new spiritual life ignites and activates all kinds of new things once dormant or non-existent in the human spirit without God. Yes, the Holy Spirit activates or gives life to the dead spirit of the sinner. His grace rushes into you and connects you directly to Him which makes you a brand new, supernatural creature. And immediately “Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God.” [2 Peter 1:3 from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.]

This grace of God…

1/ surges into the human spirit lighting up the conscience,

2/ establishes and stretches real faith,

3/ starts cravings for fellowship with God and other Christians,

4/ activates spiritual gifts,

5/ initiates a hunger for worship,

6/ kickstarts new ideas of creativity,

7/ stirs up new thoughts and ideas for discernment,

8/ and enlightens the heart with new wisdom.

All these functions of the human spirit were turned off or fully corrupted because you were dead in trespasses and sin, but immediately at salvation, spring to life by His mighty power! This flow of supernatural energy never ceases, because God’s grace has no end. And these new godly desires are the evidence of being a new creature in Christ. “It is God who produces in you the desires and actions that please him.” [Philip. 2:13 GW]

The Holy Spirit begins immediately to influence you to give the Father true worth-ship. Jesus promised, “A time will come, however, indeed it is already here, when the true (genuine) worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth (reality); for the Father is seeking just such people as these as His worshipers. 24 God is a Spirit (a spiritual Being) and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (reality). [John 4:23-24 (AMP)] This is the time, and you are the one that God wants to have a deep and close relationship with. The more you see God’s love for you, the greater your awe and worship will explode inside your spirit.

Spiritual worship is different than just singing some songs and attending church gatherings. Paul explains the difference “…make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.” [Romans 12:1 (AMP)] Giving of your self to the Lord as His faithful servant and then pouring out yourself to love others pleases Him and proves the true worth you hold for Him. He is so valuable to you that you hang on his every Word and follow His lead.

Another thing, your spirit quickly experiences the Holy Spirit’s whispers to protect you and inspire you. Our Lord warned His first followers, “Stay alert. This is hazardous work I’m assigning you. You’re going to be like sheep running through a wolf pack, so don’t call attention to yourselves. Be as cunning as a snake, inoffensive as a dove.” [Matt 10:16 (MSG)]

To be cunning and inoffensive you need fresh creative ideas from above to live your new life, and withstand difficult times in your life. “No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.” [1 Cor 10:13 (MSG)] He will always kick start fresh and creative ideas for you to succeed through problems and impossible situations.

Never forget, your mentor is inside you, and the Holy Spirit is constantly there to guide you. Learn to think creatively and outside of your norm when you are facing temptation, trials, and difficult situations. Looking forward to the future, Jesus gave this promise. “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” [John 14:15-17 (NKJV)] Today we look back and rejoice because when you are born again, you experience this amazing promise.

And grace causes a longing, a craving for friendship with other Christians. When the church started about 2000 years ago the Book of Acts reported this force and fabric of the church. Acts 2 states, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.”

One of the four main pillars of the Holy Spirit’s design for your life is fellowship. You are not saved to live life alone, but to join together with other believers. The Greek word used for fellowship is koinoônia and it means partnership, close social union, deep communication, and common distribution.

This is far beyond friendship, which is a product of your soul, but an experience from your spirit that is filled with God’s presence. Like a piece of plywood, God wants you involved in a local church and to be glued together in such a union that the pulling apart of any one Christian will hurt and scar the group. The Holy Spirit formed “original church” exemplifies this love bond.

This is clearly presented in the language of Acts 2, “All who believed were together;” “all things in common;” “continued daily with one accord;” and “breaking bread from house to house.” God deeply influences His new saints with this bonding cement of love for each other. Fellowship is the life practice of Christians loving and helping one another.

Plus a spiritual gift is infused with your spirit when you are born again to deepen this bond of love. “Each of you as a good manager must use the gift that God has given you to serve others.” [1 Peter 4:10 (GW)] God’s desire is that you are strongly bonded to other Christians and investing into their lives by caring and serving them.

The Bible explains there are seven grace gifts that the Holy Spirit picks from to strengthen you to serve. “So we, numerous as we are, are one body in Christ (the Messiah) and individually we are parts one of another [mutually dependent on one another]. 6 Having gifts (faculties, talents, qualities) that differ according to the grace given us, let us use them: [He whose gift is] prophecy, [let him prophesy] according to the proportion of his faith; 7 [He whose gift is] practical service, let him give himself to serving; he who teaches, to his teaching; 8 He who exhorts (encourages), to his exhortation; he who contributes, let him do it in simplicity and liberality; he who gives aid and superintends, with zeal and singleness of mind; he who does acts of mercy, with genuine cheerfulness and joyful eagerness.” [Romans 12:3-8 AMP]

God’s grace bubbles through your soul impacting how you look at the world around you. Yes, your one grace gift creates a deep passion to serve fellow believers from a very specific, godly perspective. It is like putting on one of seven different color sunglasses. The longer you are a born again Christian the more you see from one of these seven God-given perspectives, judge everything from that perspective, and live and are driven by that specific passion of holiness. Your spiritual gift is your strength and it feels like it comes naturally, even though it really flows supernaturally from the Holy Spirit.

Also, remember this, grace gives you new desires. “Desire God’s pure word as newborn babies desire milk. Then you will grow in your salvation.” [1 Peter 2:2 GW] Because your spirit is the home of wisdom, God causes a new hunger for His Word to gnaw at your heart. His will is to turn you from a simple foolish child into a wise and strong spiritual adult. “Behold, You desire truth in the inner being; make me therefore to know wisdom in my inmost heart.” [Psalm 51:6 AMP]

What is wisdom? It is seeing life from God’s perspective! So as you begin to read God’s Word and satisfy the hunger growing inside you for God’s truth, you will grow in wisdom, establishing the foundations in your soul [mind, will, emotions] to identify the foolishness of all sin, and the wisdom of following Jesus Christ and all His commands.

And along with the new source of wisdom coming from God’s truth, your conscience is also receiving divine impulses from God’s Holy Spirit, as conviction presses your mind when you are about to do something morally wrong, or gives assurance when you are about to do something morally right. Your new spirit now senses good and evil by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

In time, as you grow in understanding the Bible, stronger convictions multiply, and new power is experienced to keep you from constantly doing wrong. The spirit of the born again creature quickly becomes stronger because over time it becomes mighty “by reason of use” they “have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” [Hebrews 5:14 NKJV]

As you mature, you learn to use your knowledge of God’s Word to recognize good and evil. Discernment is different than judgment in the same way the duty of a jury is different than the judge in a court of law. The jury studies the facts, testimonies, and evidence presented in the courtroom so that they can come to a clear conclusion of the truth or falsehood of the parties entangled in a trial.

The judge, however, is an expert in the truth of the law, takes this information with authority and makes binding decisions. Your judge is God and truth is revealed to you by God’s Spirit. As you grow in the faith you are enabled to understand the way God wants you to make decisions and how to take steps to protect yourself from bad choices and evil people.

For “God has unveiled and revealed them by and through His Spirit, for the [Holy] Spirit searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God [the divine counsels and things hidden and beyond man’s scrutiny]. For what person perceives (knows and understands) what passes through a man’s thoughts except the man’s own spirit within him? Just so no one discerns (comes to know and comprehend) the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.”

Because the Holy Spirit lives in you, He influences your thoughts and reveals the truth to you that the “normal” person cannot understand.

Be confident in this, God loves you very much and has given you everything you need to experience new life, godly character change, and relief from the burden of sin. The more you read His Word and understand His Biblical principles the easier it is to trust Him. When you seem alone or overwhelmed, remember His promise, that He will never leave you, nor forsake you.

And believe me, it makes it even easier when you understand what is going on inside of you as a new creation in Christ Jesus. It is easier when you recognize the Holy Spirit is really at work inside you, by first constantly changing your desires, and then consistently giving you new strength through grace to please your Lord.

Now, if you are ready, let’s move forward together with The Seven Steps To Spiritual Maturity.

Randy Bell

9 Dec 2017

Phase 2 Immature Christian: focus on adding knowledge, self-control, and perseverance to become mature, Phase 3 Mature Servant: focus is adding godliness, brotherly kindness and sacrificial love, Phase 4 Godly Leader: focus on deepening sacrificial love, leading and mentoring

4 Steps To Move From Immaturity to Maturity

If you truly love Jesus Christ and want to grow up and be a mature useful member of God’s kingdom you must make four foundational commitments. These are not in word only, but in wholehearted steps of obedience to God Almighty. They are natural steps of obedience that will transform any Christian to a “good and faithful servant” (phase 3 and 4) instead of a “wicked and lazy servant.”

If you look at our circles diagram you see five concentric circles illustrating our four steps to God’s standard of discipleship maturity.

All of us start as lost sinners and are found in the community or crowd, the outer two circles. In the Bible, Jesus gives the following story: “The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. 16 These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. 18 Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19 and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20 But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” [Mark 4:14-20].

As Christians share the Good News with people of the community, some are so close minded [blinded] that they are like a paved road, so hard that they will not even listen or think about the truth of Jesus Christ.

Others have an interest and say they want Christ, but if their friends mock them or trouble and conflict comes their way, they figure Jesus was not really worth it. They go to church for a short time, but quit. Many others [of the crowd] are very interested and may make a commitment to attend church on a regular basis, but their hearts are so enslaved and focused on making money, pleasing themselves and having fun that they don’t really obey Christ, just attend church. This is why we are challenging you, this is not true Christianity.

Only those that really listen, accept, and bear fruit are real. So here is your first commitment, give your life to Christ Jesus. Have you admitted that you are a sinful criminal before. Yes, have you been caught by God’s Word and you know that you have committed the crimes God accused you of.

You are a liar, you know you have lied at least once, right? There are so many crimes you have committed! You broke the Law! Read Exodus 20. Read through a number of New Testament books until your hard heart is crushed and so softened by conviction [convinced of your wrong doing] that you know you need God’s merciful forgiveness. Only then will you be forgiven through Jesus’ sacrifice, because He died in you place. Only when you accept His provision of forgiveness can you make your first commitment.

You must become a born again Christian. Immediately, this changes your relationship from being God’s enemy, to being God’s adopted child. You are now a member of God’s family! Sometimes enemies sneak into churches, even understanding they are missing something. But they will not stay because they are not connected to the church through Jesus and the Holy Spirit that lives inside born again believers. They usually go and create their own church or organization.

Jesus tells his new believers, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” You magnify or glorify God when you clearly do what He commands in the New Testament. And believers must make the family connection!

1/ That is why you need to make your first commitment as a believer and leave the crowd and join the congregation. You must join solidly with a local church, the congregation of the Lord. You must become a responsible family member. You must help with the chores. Help with the children. Help with the responsibilities. You must learn to love your new spiritual family. You must join them because they do not know you yet. You must join them to fulfill God’s will.

2/ Your second commitment as a Christian is when you sincerely commit to grow spiritually. In our baseball diamond that means after you get to first base and start to become an active part of the congregation you start to focus on your maturity.

To really grow up we suggest a four-fold commitment to

1/ group Bible study for the purpose of completely understanding your responsibilities,

2/ group fellowship to practically learn to fulfill your responsibilities,

3/ group communion feasts to keep spiritually pure and healthy,

4/ and group prayer meetings to commune with God.

As a new baby family member you grow from copying and listening to your spiritual elders. As a mature member your example helps the younger develop their skills. And this discipleship training prepares you for the next steps in walking with your Lord Jesus.

3/ Your third foundational commitment is to serve and help others through motivated service to others [core lay minister]. See “Equipped To Serve: Spiritual Grace Gifts, One For Every Believer!” for details.

Jesus teaches in Mark 9:35, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” And Peter writes in 1 Peter 4:10, “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

We all have been indwelt by the Holy Spirit when we were born again. We receive His gift as He enters us and through spiritual growth it begins to “light” and glow through us. We need to help each other discover this gift and serve others to glorify God.

See Romans 12 to learn of the seven grace gifts. When we speak of ministers we mean servants who serve God and people as God calls. This is a calling to all Christians to bear fruit, and is the true core of leadership. We are not leaders like the world defines authority, because God calls a leader, a “servant of all.” What is left for the core “servant-leader” church members to do?

4/ Finally as core lay ministers, we must commit to the mission Jesus gives all His followers. “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 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.”

We must fulfill the Great Commission! As we go across the planet supporting each other, we obey the Great commands [Matthew 22] and the Great Commission [Matthew 28]. Your city must feel your presence as a local church (Christians united to obey God) with god-like influence and a vocal call to repent and follow Jesus Christ.

You are now responsible for what you have just learned. You must make the transition from thought to action.

Go and climb the peaks of commitment with all your “heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” Mark 12:30

Glorify the Lord and change your world!

20 Feb 2016

Phase 1 New Christian: Sins are forgiven, focus on adding virtue while turning from sin

Four Stages of Christian Life: How to Know You Are Growing Spiritually

The moment of conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ, when you are really born again, the Holy Spirit invades your spirit making you a spiritual infant. This is phase one of the Christian experience. Like physical birth you are “a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!” [2 Cor 5:17 AMP]

Now we understand that there are four phases of spiritual life from 1 John, chapter 2. And John describes this first spiritual state with these words, “I am writing to you, little children, because for His name’s sake your sins are forgiven {pardoned through His name and on account of confessing His name}.” [1 John 2:12 AMP]

PHASE ONE: THE NEW BORN SPIRITUAL INFANT

You are a child of God! “Little children” is translated from the Greek word for infant, showing the parallel to the natural birth stage of a person. The new baby is alive but weak and totally dependent upon his parents to survive. A new spiritual baby is forgiven, but spiritually ignorant and helpless just like a new born baby.

This is where the church family is required to “make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you…” [Matt 28:19-20 AMP] The parents nurture and teach their child everything about life, and the spiritual church family nurtures and teaches all the commands of Christ to their spiritual babies.

PHASE TWO: THE SPIRITUALLY IMMATURE CHILD

The next stage of life for the Christian is the immature, child stage. John describes this group of saints like this, “I write to you, boys (lads), because you have come to know (recognize and be aware) of the Father.” [1 John 2:13 AMP] The toddler through teenage years are times of great change, learning, and development, but they are still years of immaturity. Make sure you dedicate yourself as a student of Jesus Christ! Learn to walk as He walked. Infants become toddlers when they begin to walk!

The difference that is experienced by the believer in this phase, compared to the infant stage is stated to be “because you have come to know the Father.” Again John explains it this way, “Here’s how we can be sure that we know God in the right way: Keep his commandments.” [1 John 2:3 (from THE MESSAGE)] Development and school are a part of the toddler to teen years and so it is to be the same in spiritual maturity.

Peter warns these years are hard spiritually, just like growing up can be challenging. He warns, “Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, ‘I am holy; you be holy.'” [1 Peter 1:14-16 (from THE MESSAGE)]

And Paul explains graduating from school is a lot of hard work, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.” [2 Cor 10:5-6 KJV]

PHASE THREE: THE MATURE SERVANT OF GOD

Every parent wants the best for their kids! They need to graduate, get trained, get a good job, and change the world for good, etc. And Your heavenly Father wants you to do the same. You can see phase three in John’s words, “I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.” [1 John 2:14 KJV] These three clearly defined things must be achieved to be considered mature according to John.

In everyday life, the strong and vigorous young men and women finish school and join the work force, commit to military duty, or enter college for specific training to accomplish their dreams and goals. In a similar manner, strength of character comes from long exposure to God’s commands, until they are forged into your nature, and you can be described as not just knowing the words of God’s commands, but you live them! God has plans for your future!

Next, the success of every believer is determined as “the Word of God is [always] abiding in you (in your hearts).” [1 John 2:14 AMP] The importance of this in non-optional. To graduate from God’s school of obedience and live successfully is founded on this fact. The Lord promised in the Old Testament, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” [Josh 1:8 KJV] Don’t be lazy, or you will never succeed!

Just like Christ withstood the temptations of the devil, using God’s Word that filled His mind and heart, God’s will is for you to be mature in your faith so that you also withstand the enemies attacks, and not fall!

When Peter explains the seven steps of obedience to climb to spiritual maturity he proclaims, “For as these qualities are yours and increasingly abound in you, they will keep [you] from being idle or unfruitful unto the [full personal] knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed one). For whoever lacks these qualities is blind, [spiritually] shortsighted, seeing only what is near to him, and has become oblivious [to the fact] that he was cleansed from his old sins. Because of this, brethren, be all the more solicitous and eager to make sure (to ratify, to strengthen, to make steadfast) your calling and election; for if you do this, you will never stumble or fall.” [2 Peter 1:8-10 AMP]

Your success is vital, and Paul reinforces this in his letter to the Ephesians, as he explains the preparation and training necessary to withstand temptation. “Put on God’s whole armor [the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies], that you may be able successfully to stand up against [all] the strategies and the deceits of the devil.” [Eph 6:11 AMP]

After Jesus withstood the evil day of great temptations, He then began His ministry. Therefore, we can understand then, to graduate from phase two, the school of immaturity, is to begin phase three, which is to follow our Lord’s example and serve our Lord. God uses the strong and vigorous, truth filled saints because “the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds…” [2 Cor 10:4 AMP]

The work required to see hardened sinners converted, the church healthy and strong, and the culture and communities transformed is a spiritual task beyond any human plan or effort. Remember the immature disciples were unable to help people who were strongly controlled by the enemy. At that point, the Lord Jesus “said unto them, ‘This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.'” [Mark 9:29 KJV]

Paul adds, “For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere.” [Eph 6:12 AMP] The eternal destiny of your world is no joke, and it takes strong, dedicated believers to serve the King of Kings, relying on God’s power to fulfill His mission.

PHASE FOUR: THE EXPERIENCED LEADER, A TEACHER OR MENTOR

Finally, as time and experience take their course God intends for every believer to move into the final phase of their maturity. Spiritual grandfathers and grandmothers are essential to the stability and future of the church. John used a word for phase three Christians, “young men,” that in normal usage then described a man up to forty years old. Then a new phase of life was entered.

In the same fashion God expects the battle hardened veteran to slow down and pass on the legacy of the faith to others. John uses the words, “fathers, because you have come to know (recognize, be conscious of, and understand) Him Who [has existed] from the beginning.” [1 John 2:14 AMP] The understanding and wisdom of the faithful servant must be passed on to the next generation or the church weakens and fails to be the testimony of Christ Jesus.

Let these words sink into your heart, “By this time you ought to be teachers yourselves…” [Heb 5:12 (from THE MESSAGE)] Time, not a special calling, is clearly voiced as the reason to become a teacher in the church. This is the reason you find the church leaders in Acts are called, elders, with teaching responsibility.

This is why Paul ordered Titus to teach to the end that “the older women similarly to be reverent and devout in their deportment as becomes those engaged in sacred service… They are to give good counsel and be teachers of what is right and noble, so that they will wisely train the young women…” [Titus 2:3-4 AMP]

Now that you understand the four phases of spiritual life, you need to know what God requires of you to grow spiritually and please your Lord. We are not left to our own opinions for this, but God’s Word provides clear steps of action for every Christian to take. This is covered in the Seven Steps of Obedience To Spiritual Maturity found in 2 Peter 1.

Do you love the Lord? Are you willing to grow up and serve Him? I pray that you do!

Kingdom Life Principles

You Must Be Born Again