Whether we are thinking of "growing up" in a natural family, or a spiritual family, whether it is in the life of a man or a woman, the bible teaches that a maturing process is necessary to transition from being a child to becoming a son (a mature adolescent) to being a father (a mature productive adult). I wish to focus upon the spiritual family that we know as the Church.
1. New Testament believers are called children (Gr. teknon) of God (John 1:12).
2. All New Testament believers can become sons (Gr. huios) of God (Galatians 3:26-28), but like natural children, each must pass through a maturing process en route to becoming mature sons.
3. The preceding process is preparation for a productive life so that we may be involved in bringing others into God's family. However, to fail to participate in the process of maturing, we will remain immature, and not become fruitful, even though chosen for that purpose (John 15:16).
God arranges various situations in our lives to reveal our immaturity, just as he did in the developing life of Jesus. God chooses to reveal our immaturity in bite sized increments. Furthermore, God chooses to do so at a time when we can have an opportunity to do something about the revealed immaturity. There is a principle given in 1 Corinthians 10:13, and the principle is this, that when we are faced with temptation, God will make a way of escape. Let's apply the principle: When we receive a revelation of our immaturity, the temptation will be to refuse the way of escape and continue in the comfort zone of our immaturity.
However, there is a better alternative than continuing in our immaturity! God holds that alternative! Since God chooses the time to reveal our immaturity, He also chooses the coming of a person into our lives to which we can submit, and thereby escape our immaturity. The revelation of our immaturity, and the presence of a person to whom we can submit is God's provision for us to take a further step of growth into maturity. This is exactly what transpired in the life of Jesus at 12 years of age (Luke 2:41-52). He accepted the revelation of his immaturity, and took the way of escape out of his immaturity by submitting to Mary and Joseph and returned to Nazareth with them. According to Luke 2:52, as a result of Jesus submission, he grew in wisdom and in favor with God and man.
Obviously, from the life of Jesus, it was not a sin to be immature. But if we refuse to submit to that which God has arranged for our development, we commit a sin of disobedience, and we fail to move on to the next level of maturity (2 Peter 1:3-11). Based on verse 3 of this scripture, maturity is equated with godliness. However, many of us are satisfied to receive life, and thus escape hell. We fail to grow into maturity, and while we escape hell, in our immaturity we raise a lot of frustration in the lives of those we connect to in the Body of Christ!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The Experiences and Relationships of Life
I came to pastor in the city of Prince George in November of 1978. I have a very deep appreciation to God for the experiences and the relationships that have come into mly life during these past thirty years plus! In fact as I think back over the past fifty-seven years of pastoral ministry in six different regions of North America, I am so thankiful to God for the great variety ofpeople who have brought such positive experiences into my life, resulting in deepening relationships with God and man!
I am amazed at the noted individuals that God has allowed me to meet over these many years, let me just name two such individuals, E. Stanley Jones, and Paul S. Rees. When I was a very young pastor pioneering a newly planted church in the city of Winnipeg, I was invited by a friend to attend a small group meeting in the YWCA being addressed by a guest speaker, E. Stanley Jones. I had never heard of the speaker, but that night I was to experience a touch of the Holy Spirit through Jones, that would ultimately lead me to read most of the writings of this noted author and missionary.
After nine years in Winnipeg, my wife, Glenna and I accepted an invitation to pastor in Omaha, Nebraska. It was in that city that I attended a pastoral leadership meeting at which Paul S. Rees was guest speaker. He too was an author who was to bring enrichment to my spiritual life by his writings.
Interestingly enough, this week (January, 2007) as I was looking through some of the books on my library shelf, I found a magazine article written about E. Stanley Jones by Paul S. Rees. The article was entitled, "Drenched with Christ." Let me share certain noteworthy highlights from this article by Paul S. Rees: "At the General Conference of the Methodist Church in 1924, E. Stanley Jones was elected as bishop and was within hours of his consecration." "I (Paul S. Rees) heard him tell about the sleepless night he spent after his election. He said that in the night the Inner Voice had spoken to him, saying, 'Stanley, if you will decline this honor, I'll let you walk with me through Asia.' It was enough, he declined the bishop's chair. The Inner Voice proved right. Not Asia only, but the world!"
"Stanley Jones was a man of the people---all the people, all denominations, all classes, all colors." "Stanley Jonses was a man of prayer. He wrote, 'I find myself better or worse as I pray more or less.'" "Stanley Jones was a man of passion---not boisterous and bossy, but controlled and compelling. His passion was Christ!"
What is the significance of these brief encounters that I had with E. Stanley Jones and Paul S. Rees? Can I say that I know these men, or that I have a personal relationship with these men? No, but I did have a spiritual experience by these brief encounters, and these experiences eventually resulted in a deepening of my spiritual relationships both with God and man! Personally, I believe that these experiences were a means of bringing improvement in my relationship to God and man because of the priority that I placed upon relationship over experience.
I have often said the following to young people: When I began a courtship with a young lady, named Glenna about 58 years ago, I did so, not to have a romantic experience, but to explore as to whether there was the possibility of a lasting (marital) relationship. Glenna and I came into agreement that the necessary character qualities for a life long relationship were present in each of our lives, and upon that basis we committed ourselves to God and each other in a marriage relationship that has spanned fifty-seven years, as of July, 2009.
May I encourage you to share in experiences that will lead you to committed relationships!
I am amazed at the noted individuals that God has allowed me to meet over these many years, let me just name two such individuals, E. Stanley Jones, and Paul S. Rees. When I was a very young pastor pioneering a newly planted church in the city of Winnipeg, I was invited by a friend to attend a small group meeting in the YWCA being addressed by a guest speaker, E. Stanley Jones. I had never heard of the speaker, but that night I was to experience a touch of the Holy Spirit through Jones, that would ultimately lead me to read most of the writings of this noted author and missionary.
After nine years in Winnipeg, my wife, Glenna and I accepted an invitation to pastor in Omaha, Nebraska. It was in that city that I attended a pastoral leadership meeting at which Paul S. Rees was guest speaker. He too was an author who was to bring enrichment to my spiritual life by his writings.
Interestingly enough, this week (January, 2007) as I was looking through some of the books on my library shelf, I found a magazine article written about E. Stanley Jones by Paul S. Rees. The article was entitled, "Drenched with Christ." Let me share certain noteworthy highlights from this article by Paul S. Rees: "At the General Conference of the Methodist Church in 1924, E. Stanley Jones was elected as bishop and was within hours of his consecration." "I (Paul S. Rees) heard him tell about the sleepless night he spent after his election. He said that in the night the Inner Voice had spoken to him, saying, 'Stanley, if you will decline this honor, I'll let you walk with me through Asia.' It was enough, he declined the bishop's chair. The Inner Voice proved right. Not Asia only, but the world!"
"Stanley Jones was a man of the people---all the people, all denominations, all classes, all colors." "Stanley Jonses was a man of prayer. He wrote, 'I find myself better or worse as I pray more or less.'" "Stanley Jones was a man of passion---not boisterous and bossy, but controlled and compelling. His passion was Christ!"
What is the significance of these brief encounters that I had with E. Stanley Jones and Paul S. Rees? Can I say that I know these men, or that I have a personal relationship with these men? No, but I did have a spiritual experience by these brief encounters, and these experiences eventually resulted in a deepening of my spiritual relationships both with God and man! Personally, I believe that these experiences were a means of bringing improvement in my relationship to God and man because of the priority that I placed upon relationship over experience.
I have often said the following to young people: When I began a courtship with a young lady, named Glenna about 58 years ago, I did so, not to have a romantic experience, but to explore as to whether there was the possibility of a lasting (marital) relationship. Glenna and I came into agreement that the necessary character qualities for a life long relationship were present in each of our lives, and upon that basis we committed ourselves to God and each other in a marriage relationship that has spanned fifty-seven years, as of July, 2009.
May I encourage you to share in experiences that will lead you to committed relationships!
THE CONTAGION OF FEAR by Arlo A. Johnson
The physical disasters of 9/11 and following (including the World Health Organization's declaration that the H1N1 flu is a pandemic) has resulted in a second and greater pandemic: the pandemic of fear.
A website dictionary describes 'pandemic' (adjective) to include both "a disease prevalent throughout ... the whole world, and universal fear." It seems obvious to a great many of us that the pandemic fear is now worse than the pandemic disease.
Jesus in Luke 21:25-26; 28 spoke of conditions that would begin to occur upon the earth at a future time: "On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world ..." Consistently in the bible, the expression, "the roaring and the tossing of the sea" is a symbol of the war-like conditions that exist among the masses of humanity. Isaiah 57:20 niv states: "But the wicked are like the tossing of the sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud."
As we consider the present "pandemic of disease and fear," there are two words of particular significance, the words are pandemonium and panic. 1. Pandemonium is described by my Oxford dictionary as "the abode of all demons; a place of lawless violence and uproar; utter confusion." As we view the disastrous conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Gaza Strip etc., would one not say that these are places of pandemonium?
2. Panic, again according to the Oxford dictionary, is: "of terror, unreasoning, excessive; excessively hasty through fear; an infectious fright; sudden alarm leading to hasty measures." So many of the foregoing words describe the fear that is being expressed in the media today.
The words, pandemonium, and panic have a common root, and it is "pan." Pan as a part of these two words, is not referring to the whole of a country, or world, as in the case of the word, pandemic. Wikipedia states concerning the word, panic: "The word panic is derived from a Greek word pertaining to the god of woods and fields who was the source of mysterious sounds that caused contagious, groundless fear in herds and crowds, or in people in lonely spots." As Christian believers, we know that such ancient gods were and are demonic spirits. Pan is a demonic spirit.
In my twelve tours of Israel, I have visited Mount Hermon at the northern border of Israel frequently! During the past twenty-four years a massive geological dig has been taking place at the foot of Mount Hermon. The excavations have unearthed a heathen temple that was built to the demonic god known as Pan. It was to this location (also known as Caesarea Philippi) that Jesus brought his disciples, and while there, he asked them this question: "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" (Matthew 16:13).
In Matthew 16:16, Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." In verse 18, Jesus said, "And I tell you, that you are Peter (petros, a little stone), and on this rock (petra, a massive rock) I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." In verses 21-23, as Jesus spoke of a conflict that would result in his crucifixion, I believe a wave of fear from god Pan overcame Peter. As a result of that fear in Peter's thoughts, he began to rebuke Jesus. One of the common responses of fear is the desire to take control so as to prevent the fear creating event from occurring. This is exactly what Peter did on that occasion. Immediately, Jesus turning to Peter said, 'Get behind me, Satan.'
There were two voices in conflict that day in Caesarea Philippi at the foot of Mount Hermon --- one was the voice of Jesus, and the other was the voice of Satan. Both of these voices are still being heard in our world today! One voice is aligned with the kingdom of darkness, and if listened to, will result in fear. The other voice is aligned with the kingdom of God, and if listened to will result in faith. "God has said, 'Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.' So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?' (Hebrews 13:5-6).
We are not helpless victims in a troubled world! But we are faced with choices! I choose to listen to the voice that speaks words that will result in faith, and by doing so, I reject the words that result in fear! WHAT CHOICE ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE?
A website dictionary describes 'pandemic' (adjective) to include both "a disease prevalent throughout ... the whole world, and universal fear." It seems obvious to a great many of us that the pandemic fear is now worse than the pandemic disease.
Jesus in Luke 21:25-26; 28 spoke of conditions that would begin to occur upon the earth at a future time: "On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world ..." Consistently in the bible, the expression, "the roaring and the tossing of the sea" is a symbol of the war-like conditions that exist among the masses of humanity. Isaiah 57:20 niv states: "But the wicked are like the tossing of the sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud."
As we consider the present "pandemic of disease and fear," there are two words of particular significance, the words are pandemonium and panic. 1. Pandemonium is described by my Oxford dictionary as "the abode of all demons; a place of lawless violence and uproar; utter confusion." As we view the disastrous conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Gaza Strip etc., would one not say that these are places of pandemonium?
2. Panic, again according to the Oxford dictionary, is: "of terror, unreasoning, excessive; excessively hasty through fear; an infectious fright; sudden alarm leading to hasty measures." So many of the foregoing words describe the fear that is being expressed in the media today.
The words, pandemonium, and panic have a common root, and it is "pan." Pan as a part of these two words, is not referring to the whole of a country, or world, as in the case of the word, pandemic. Wikipedia states concerning the word, panic: "The word panic is derived from a Greek word pertaining to the god of woods and fields who was the source of mysterious sounds that caused contagious, groundless fear in herds and crowds, or in people in lonely spots." As Christian believers, we know that such ancient gods were and are demonic spirits. Pan is a demonic spirit.
In my twelve tours of Israel, I have visited Mount Hermon at the northern border of Israel frequently! During the past twenty-four years a massive geological dig has been taking place at the foot of Mount Hermon. The excavations have unearthed a heathen temple that was built to the demonic god known as Pan. It was to this location (also known as Caesarea Philippi) that Jesus brought his disciples, and while there, he asked them this question: "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" (Matthew 16:13).
In Matthew 16:16, Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." In verse 18, Jesus said, "And I tell you, that you are Peter (petros, a little stone), and on this rock (petra, a massive rock) I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." In verses 21-23, as Jesus spoke of a conflict that would result in his crucifixion, I believe a wave of fear from god Pan overcame Peter. As a result of that fear in Peter's thoughts, he began to rebuke Jesus. One of the common responses of fear is the desire to take control so as to prevent the fear creating event from occurring. This is exactly what Peter did on that occasion. Immediately, Jesus turning to Peter said, 'Get behind me, Satan.'
There were two voices in conflict that day in Caesarea Philippi at the foot of Mount Hermon --- one was the voice of Jesus, and the other was the voice of Satan. Both of these voices are still being heard in our world today! One voice is aligned with the kingdom of darkness, and if listened to, will result in fear. The other voice is aligned with the kingdom of God, and if listened to will result in faith. "God has said, 'Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.' So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?' (Hebrews 13:5-6).
We are not helpless victims in a troubled world! But we are faced with choices! I choose to listen to the voice that speaks words that will result in faith, and by doing so, I reject the words that result in fear! WHAT CHOICE ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE?
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