GROWING IN CHRIST

LIKE A TREE

Jeremiah 17: 7-9, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he will be like a tree planted at the waters, which spreads out her roots at the river, and will not care when the heat comes, but her leaf will be green; and will not be worried in the year of draught, neither will she stop bearing fruit. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it.” Matthew 7: 18-20, “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that does not bring forth good fruit is cut down, and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruit you will know them.”

We will now talk about the need and the possibility of a child of God to grow. There is such a need for everyone, new-born baby or experienced sheep in the flock, no matter at what stage they are, it is possible to grow more. Growth should continually be sought after. Growth is productivity. Once you cease to be productive you are in fact steadily dying. And if you are a new baby in the Lord and never grow from the point at which you started, which is that of being only a believing sinner, then you have not changed into constantly becoming a former sinner who is moving forward with effective faith.

The theme of spiritual growth is prevalent throughout the New Testament, and is often likened to a tree’s life, purpose, nature, and produce. A spiritual tree has to be pleasing to the Father who owns the farm, and to the Saviour who tends the tree that it might grow and bear fruit, then bear more fruit, then bear much fruit. Every tree comes from the seed that came from another tree, that the trees that came before and the trees that will come after may all be one type of tree producing the same kind of fruit. A tree begins as a seed. A seed looks small, yet from it will develop all of the tree, so that the right seed ensures the right tree. And it is the fruit that will be produced that will confirm that the seed was the right one from the beginning.

The seed is the Gospel as the word of God that is preached. The fertile soil is the heart that is ready after being broken and moistened and mixed with manure, all these being the preparedness to be changed by the word of truth and seek the light that exposes whatever is unwanted in the depth of the secret heart. For once the heart is renewed then the word is desired more for teaching unto righteousness and strength, which are like the water that daily water the tender transforming soul through the word of grace.

A tree must live in open air, and the open air is like the Holy Spirit always surrounding the tree and inside of it, to keep it alive. A tree needs light to be working in the inside, and to be effective on the outside, and that light for proper operation, which is incessantly received from above, is Jesus and his grace. A tree is planted to bear fruit, and the fruit is for doing good to the eaters, for healthiness and for fulfillment. Therefore let the welcome fruit from every tree under Christ, be for peace and help, with truth. Truth is the identification of the tree as Christian, its truth being the Gospel, and its truthfulness being that it does not and cannot compromise. The believer is kept true by grace, which constantly ensures that the heart of the righteous is right before God, and that the actions of the disciple are disciplined.     

FAITH

1Peter 1: 5, “…who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” The faith that we have is in Jesus Christ the Lord, and by faith we mean: to trust our Father without doubting and to believe that the Gospel is the ultimate truth. Power can never be dissociated from faith. The expectation for powerful intervention cannot be separated from faith in God, because we are convinced that our God is Almighty enough to be our present and dependable help. To say we have faith while we do not anticipate accessible power to come to our rescue and to permanently remain with us is to deceive ourselves and to underestimate the full gift that is the Gospel.

The power is from above, of heaven on high, where God our Father dwells in glory, ever available to the believing heart. For to genuinely believe is to absolutely please God whose heart is grieved because mankind is persuaded by the works of the evil one that God is either just not good or simply does not exist. Therefore the believer becomes the favourite person to God, for his life is a living testimony that he tastes and sees for himself that God is good, and his trusting God is a recorded eternal treasure in heaven, for there are many who do not believe, but he decided that he would believe to the very end. We believe without wavering, that God is our Father by Jesus, and that he loves us forever, and that he has given us the abundance of his Holy Sprit, who has liberated our lives from fears and ignorance.

HOPE

1Corinthians 15: 43, “Sown in dishonor, and raised in glory, sown in weakness, and raised in power”. The end is what will reveal the actual glory of the salvation that we know has already redeemed us, which for now is more of a reality in our souls through the inner working of the power of the Spirit of God, but at the end we shall see the Lord Jesus whom we have trusted through thick and thin and highs and lows, and we will enter with the new everlasting body, into that heavenly glory of God, on earth then. Hope does not disappoint, for the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts. We have heard that on the third day Jesus Christ did rise from the tomb, and that that very tomb to this day remains empty in Jerusalem, and that in the course of two thousand years not one man ever found the dead body of Jesus anywhere, nor can any come up with bones that he can claim to be his.

For the Jesus who had been saying, long before his death and resurrection, that he would be crucified for humanity’s sins and be raised by his Father with the eternal Spirit of holiness, is truly alive with an undying body of glory, and his blood is in heaven for the defense of the defenseless, who flee from the devil and hide behind his grace. This is the one and only Christ of God, who was foretold by the many prophets of the Old Testament, who predicted that he would die for sinners and rise with power, that the love of God might freely come upon Israel and the foreigners who did not deserve the mercy that we have now accessed. And we know that this same Jesus will come again on the clouds from heaven for us with all the saints.

SCRIPTURE

2Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” No scripture no Gospel. No scriptural-ness no Christ-likeness. The child of God must live on the word of God. It is his soul’s food. It is his mind’s wisdom. It is his eyes’ light. It is his ears’ counselor. It is his feet’s guide. It is his hand’s teacher. It is his mouth’s voice. It is his spirit’s weapon. And it is his heart’s honey. The child of God wants to understand what the kingdom of his Father is all about. He needs to hear for himself what our Lord Jesus has to say to him and to all. He needs to be sure that the Father has supplied heaven’s angels to us on earth to help us fulfill his will and be safe in Jesus. He is glad to learn more than before, about how much more the Holy Ghost gives him a capacity he never had before, and leads him closer to the Shepherd who is near to the seeking. It is from the word of God that we receive our daily encouragement and applause from above.

You should not only read the word of God, but study it. And when you study it, learn its lessons never to forget them. And when you understand what it reveals as the absolute reality, walk accordingly. Make notes. Underline. Make annotations. Compare scriptures. Memorize the ones you need to. Know where to find what you need. Be capable of teaching the messages of truth to others. Let your conduct and faithfulness and reliance on the commandments and promises of your Father be clear for all to see. That way you will grow, from being a novice to having expertise, and from insecurity to certainty. Grow on.

PRAYER

1Thessalonians 5: 17, “Pray without ceasing.” After “Jesus wept” John 11: 35, this could well be the next shortest verse in the bible. Why would God make that shortest verse the shortest? And why would he make this one one of the next shortest? About the shortest, God wants to show that the love of Jesus for man is the kind that makes him weep. About this one being one of the next shortest, God wants us to know how so very extremely serious the matter of continuous prayer is for the saint. Anything that is written in short is so stated so as to not be forgotten. If I were to start from here to tell you all the reasons I know as to why it is vital to pray at every opportunity and for every issue whatsoever, I would end up backing it up with testimonies so countless that it is more practical in this instance to just say that God hears and answers prayer, and that the more you pray is the more you grow into heavenly things.

Pray when you wake up, and pray before you sleep. Pray when you read the bible, and pray before you preach. Pray on your knees, and pray walking. Pray whispering, and pray shouting. Pray like a beggar, and pray like a ruler. Pray with tears, and pray with laughter. Pray with songs, and pray in silence. Pray alone, and pray in fellowship. Pray with fasting, and pray at midnight. Pray repentantly, and pray thankfully. Pray in the name of Jesus, because that name appeals to the favour of the Father, that name attracts the power of the Holy Ghost, that name covers the soldier with fire from on high, and that name is mightier than any devil. Pray through the blood that was shed on the cross, and save your soul. Pray!

WORSHIP

Revelation 19: 10, “Worship God, for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” We worship God because he is worthy of it. Actually the word ‘worship’ consists of the words ‘worth’ and ‘ship’, meaning: the worthiness; which is what we are really saying when we worship our God, acknowledging his immense worth. God is worthy because he is the Creator. He is worthy because he is our heavenly Father. He is worthy because he is Almighty. He is worthy because nothing is impossible for him. He is worthy because he is King over angels. He is worthy because he is Lord above every creature. He is worthy because he is the only wise one. He is worthy because ha gave us his beloved Son. He is worthy because he is love. He is worthy because he forgave our sins. He is worthy because he gives us each day our daily provisions. He is worthy because he has prepared mansions for us in his house. He is worthy because he is the judge of all the earth. He is worthy because he is the Most High.

We sing of Jesus, praising his name, testifying of his grace, giving him thanks and proclaiming his kingdom, because there is no other name by which we can be saved, and we believe that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. We shout the name of Jesus because demons are terrified of it. We admire and adore our marvelous Shepherd who walks with us and is the Lamb that was once slain in our place on the cross and has wonderfully assured our souls and renewed our hearts. We call upon his name because the wicked one can’t stand him. We declare that Jesus Christ is the Lord! Unto him we sing out loud, and dance with all our might, and recite psalms, and receive new melodies in the Spirit.     

LOVE

John 13: 34, “As I have loved you, that you also love one another.” We love because we are loved. We are to love in the same way in which we are loved by the Father. In fact we love with the very love with which we are constantly being loved by Christ. We learn from him to love. His love is true, so we love in truth. We show and give love to the saints because we love our Father enough to do whatever makes him happy. We love the people in the world not because they are lovable or easy to love, but because we know how much Jesus has loved us who were not asking for it or aware of our need for him. This is the love of God in Christ through the church: that we give, that we forgive, that we cheer, that we comfort, that we visit, that we share, that we befriend, that we serve, and that we intercede before heaven and intervene for those in the world. For love we are willing to be holy; keeping ourselves strong in the Lord and exemplary in his way, that those who are little lambs in the faith may not falter because of our carelessness. For love a young man will not commit fornication with his fiancé because he could not bear treating her cheaply. For love a teenage girl heeds the advice of her parents that she not give in to peer pressure and live the party life, because she couldn’t forgive herself if she were to be the cause of their heartache, repaying their love with ungratefulness for selfish ignorant conveniences.

The totality of righteousness amounts to nothing either than love. For, love is the type of righteousness that is easily evident through its various works, which distinguish it as genuine. For many in the church claim to be so holy that they will not lower themselves to do good where it is most needed. And there are many too, who are simply afraid of giving, going or serving with love, for fear of inadequacy and lack. But where there is love and the love is true, servants pay a heavy price, and they are not weary of the cost. In loving we act like Jesus. For love we become willing to trust God. With love righteousness does right.

PEACE

Philippians 4: 7, “And the peace of God, which is beyond comprehension, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” We all need to live in peace. But the devil brought sin into the world when man distrusted God, and as a result of man’s impatience for glory and unfaithfulness to the commandments, peace has been taken away from the world. If only all the world would return to the Maker, to trust him with obedience and wait for him who is faithful, there would fall overflowing blessings from heaven, and peace would flow among men like streams of refreshing waters and oils of healing medicine. It is Jesus who is the Prince of Peace and the King in the City of Peace. The peace that is from Jesus is beyond comprehension, because it is divine, it is eternal, it resilient, and it makes content. Thank God for that peace that cannot be explained, which calms our fears and restores pervasive tranquility. Such peace is readily available if only we take time to be in the presence of God, forgetting about the worries of the world and committing our lives’ concerns to our heavenly Father who cares.

All our hurts are well known to Jesus. He alone is the closest friend we have on high and on this earth. He is the friend who sticks closer than a brother. The things that trouble our souls are felt by Jesus our gracious friend. His grace is sufficient for us. We do not have to be in despair. We have hope for tomorrow in his name. With his blood he has wiped away our past. All the failures and sorrows that we have experienced are nailed to his cross. All the persistent guilt of our sins is blown away by his breeze of mercy. He is patient enough to bear our struggles, and strong enough to make us strong when we are weak.     

JOY

1Peter 1:8, “Whom having not seen, you love; in whom, though now you do not see him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.” The kind of joy that is spoken about here is the one that only the Spirit of God our Father fills our lives with, our hearts drinking of the sweetness of the wine of unity with Christ. There arises songs from the grateful heart, and a feeling of stabilizing security surges up from deep within the soul. When the child of God is truly born again of the Holy Spirit, having been convicted of the filth of his past rebellion from which he repented with believing remorse, the Holy Spirit takes over his life from the inside out, filling and refilling his inner vessel with joy and arming his spirit with the word of God. That is real power. The one that descends from the throne of our Father above, and continuously pours out from the heavenly river of life. It is the power to rejoice in the midst of sorrow, to sing instead of weeping, to be anointed from the head down in exchange for ashes of gloom. It’s the knowledge of the Son of God that instills such a profound sense of assurance that there is no more room for doubt and weakness of mind. Faculties of perception and propulsion heighten power.

The joy of the Lord is our strength. We rejoice greatly in his name. Our joy is immeasurable. Our confidence is unshakeable. We are sure that we have a Saviour. The Lamb has renewed our lives. For him we live. With him we walk. By him we are taught. From him we have strength. From heaven he is returning for us. That we may be with him forever. Never to be separated again. Here, now , in this time, in this world, he has given us the gift that is the Holy Ghost, to be our souls’ guard and our hearts’ companion.    

HUMILITY

1Peter 5: 5, “Likewise, you younger, submit yourselves to the elder. Yes, all of you be humble to one another, and be clothed with humility: for God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble.” Humility is an essential Christian quality that the house of God seems to have begun to underestimate and even to forget about. Though they know about humility they neither conduct themselves in accordance with it, nor do they speak as those who are humble. To be honest: pride, bragging, boasting, and belittling are all very repulsive to God our Judge. He will not stand the arrogant. Not only are they arrogant in speech and deeds but they are arrogant in appearance and possessions as well. They forget that pride goes before a fall. But the meek shall inherit the earth. Maybe the meek will not inherit this present earth that is now ready to be done away with forever, and maybe the proud will not meet their already prepared fall in this world, but this one thing is certain, that whether in this world or the coming one, the Holy One will not neglect to shame the boaster and elevate the lowly and their name before all.

There is simply no way in which a child of God can walk with the righteous Father without first being of a humble heart. Remember that when you call on Jesus to enter your life and take total control of it, you do it with confession of sins and confession of his Lordship and Saviour-ship, which should mean that you are not going to be a rebel to him or a headache to his flock or a laughing stock for his Gospel before the watching and seeking and skeptical world. Be humble and people will take you seriously. Be humble and you will achieve great things. Be humble and the Master will send you. Be humble and the Father will bless you. But if you are not humble you will not hear, you will not be willing to serve, you will tire easily, people will be weary of you, and when hardship comes into your life you will neither have anyone to stand with you nor will you have someone to counsel you. So, humble yourself. The Lord is Jesus.

HOLINESS

1Peter 1: 16, “Because it is written, Be holy; for I am holy.” Along with humility, this is another requirement integral to Christianity that seems to have been forsaken by those who say they are saints of God. How can we? How dare we? No holiness no saints. No holiness no heaven. Do you know that the word ‘saint’ means: sanctified one; which obviously implies absolute holiness? And have you not read in the book of Hebrews where it says that without holiness no man will see the Lord: Heb 12:14; and what about the one in the book of 1John which says whoever has the hope of becoming like our Lord on the day when we will see him must purify himself: 1John 3:3? Firstly we are made holy by God himself, with the blood of the Lamb who takes away our sin that we may have his own holiness, which comes by faith through prayer from humble hearts confident of receiving and bold in Christ: Heb 4:16, Jam 1:6. Secondly we become evidently confirmed to heaven and to the world as holy by our righteous manners and pure lifestyle, being determined to leave behind the works of death and press on toward the mark of the high calling: Heb 6:1, Phil 3:14.

If we are devoted to God in our consciences, that will compel our minds to think pure thoughts, which with compel our bodies to do righteous acts, which will compel our God to bless us as we do so, which will compel the sinners to turn from their wicked ways and have faith in God, with whom there is no iniquity. I am not saying that I am perfectly holy or that any follower of Christ was ever perfectly holy, but what I am saying is that we cannot let ourselves be comfortable with our world-likeness, which is worldliness, which is carnality, which is fleshliness, which is sinfulness, which is hellishness. We have to seek God to deliver us from some things. And when he does, we should not refuse to escape. And we need to be accountable to each other, motivating each other to more holiness, and not despising God’s grace.

FELLOWSHIP

Matthew 18: 20, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them.” There is no use trying to be a loner in Christ. It does not work, especially in this current generation of multiplied temptation and ever increasing selfish ambition, influenced by television and life companions, be they friends, co-workers, family or spouses. You need to be connected to other believers, to unite with them on the days of communal worship and to grow in step with them, hearing preachings, serving in the community, praying corporately, learning to teach, and going to different places, some for recreation and others for meeting new people to befriend, to learn from and to encourage. You also aught to let your true self be known, even if you may think some aspects of who you really are or might be more interesting than others, or that some problems you face could be too burdensome for others. Just relax, and simply be yourself, gradually getting to know others and steadily starting to have all things in common with the local body of Christ, until you are all one in mind and united at heart.

 With fellowship comes support. With fellowship comes sharing. With fellowship comes ease. And with fellowship comes empowerment. With loneliness can come depression. With loneliness can come delusion. With loneliness can come temptation. And with loneliness can come weariness. So, let your personality come out into the open, with its strengths and talents that are natural and that are gifts of the Holy Spirit. Be a responsible elder to the younger brethren, and be a respectful younger brother/sister to the elder brethren. With the spiritual temple of God  that is comprised of living stones, receive the needy, help the stranded, speak to the aloof, embrace the near, and honor the ministers of the word of truth. And grace shall abound to those who are one in Christ, who pray as one for one another’s concerns and rejoice in unison at the triumph of Jesus against the destroyer. Be one with us all.

WITNESSING   

Matthew 28: 18-20, “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All power has been given to me in heaven and in earth. You, go therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things, whatsoever I have commanded you. And, look, I am with you all the way, even to the end of the world. Amen.” 1Corinthians 3: 6, “I have planted, Apollos watered, and God gave the increase.” Ephesians 4: 12, “for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” Romans 1: 16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.” Romans 10: 15, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, and bring happy news about a good thing.”

The Gospel has to be preached. That is how Christianity spreads and has thrived for nearly two thousand years. Those who receive the Gospel love it, and love the next person enough to pass it on to him. It is all a matter of compassion. If you were saved from hell by Jesus why would you not wish that another one like you would be saved too? If you were delivered from some curse by Jesus I believe that you would desire that another one who is like you were should also be delivered. If you truly believe that the love of God has unfathomable heights and depths and breadth and length, I trust that you will make it known.