Grow Up
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... that we henceforth be no more children, tossed
to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine ... Eph. 4:14
Ever feel like your mind is being torn in two different directions? You hear what you feel is a good word from God and start following it, only to hear a different word later that seems to contradict it. In school we have been taught to believe what we hear the teacher say. It carries over to the church and our homes. We hang on every word we hear on the news or from the pulpit, never questioning the validity of it. God's way of doing things is a lot different than the world's way. He wants us to be thinkers, searchers, and comparative shoppers. In short, he wants us to know what we believe and why. Some day we will all have to give account to God for what we believe (Ro. 14:12). He will not accept the excuse that we took the pastor's or the televangelist's or the teacher's word for it. We must decide what we believe, not because someone else believes it, but because we have talked it over with God and come into agreement with what he reveals to us in the word. Sometimes we want to believe something because: (1) it is what Grandma believed. Or (2) we want to fit in with our friends. Or (3) we want to be part of a church that is acceptable to others. Or (4) we are looking for a religion that fits our lifestyle. What good does any of this do if we miss God? Christianity is more than just finding a belief system or a church we feel comfortable in. Man's thinking and reasoning processes are corrupted: meaning our judgment is off. Honesty with God needs to be the first step we take in growing up. ...if you abide in My word, you are my disciples indeed. and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. John 8:31-32 We have to admit to God that we are confused by what we have been taught and what we hear. Then ask him to show us his way. As we get into the Bible ourselves and keep an open mind, he will reveal his thinking to us. Our feelings are not good for judging truth. We get all excited when we hear something we like and then later can find out it was wrong. On the other hand, we can hear something we don't like and then be filled with joy later over the same thing. The reason is that our feelings have been over stimulated and manipulated by what we see and hear for so long that they are out of control. They cause us to be depressed, excited, in love, angry, etc. for no reason. We wake up and feel down so we figure we are depressed. Why? We have let our emotions control us instead of controlling them. It is time for us to grow up and stop acting like children. If we do not grow up, we will always be moved by our feelings and they change every 5 minutes. We grow up by taking responsibility for ourselves: for what we believe as well as what we have done. If we are taking responsibility for what we believe, then we will not be swayed by every new teaching that comes along. We will take control of our feelings instead of them controlling us. There was a man once who came into an expensive restaurant and had no reservation. When refused admittance he became angry and said, "My friend, Joe, eats hear all the time and he said I didn't need a reservation". Needless to say, he didn't get into the restaurant. This may sound foolish but it is exactly how we act over the things of God. Why did the man trust Joe instead of calling the restaurant for himself? For the same reason we trust ministers we hear on the radio, on television or even from our own church. We always thinks others know more than we do about God. We should be going to God's word to make sure what we have heard is right? It does no good to get angry because we were deceived. We have a right to go to the word and to God anytime we want so there is no excuse other than laziness. We take the easy way without knowing whether it will get us where we need to be or not. The word of God will always confirm what you have heard, if it is truth. And so will the Holy Spirit. The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. Rom. 8:16 There are certain teachings we want to believe because they are quick and easy. Like gambling, we put our money on a sure thing and hope we are right. The problem is that we always take a chance on being wrong when we agree with someone else. Does that mean we will not be saved if we make a mistake? No, it just means we lose the works we were building on our foundation of Jesus Christ. We are saved by putting our trust in Him, not by the works we do. We will go back to the man in the restaurant. If the restaurant was heaven, then the reservation would be in the name of Jesus Christ. It wouldn't matter what Joe said. You need a reservation to get into heaven and you get it by believing in Jesus Christ. When you get to heaven, you say. "yes, I have a reservation in the name of Jesus Christ". The waiter looks in the book and there is your name. Reservations can only be in the name of Jesus, no matter what anyone else says. So, you have your reservation in heaven. If you have no money, does that cancel your reservation? No, the bill is already paid in advance by Jesus. Does it matter that you made unwise decisions, wasted your gifts and talents, or chose to attend the wrong church? No, it is having a reservation that matters and once your name is found in the book, it doesn't matter what kind of car you rode in to get there. Probably the best thing we can do is just relax once we are saved and let the Holy Spirit take care of us. Our flesh will scream "do something". People will scream "straighten up". The devil will scream "look what you did". But the Holy Spirit gently whispers "follow me". Hearing Him is maturity and the beginning of growth. What do you believe? One man esteems one day above another; another man esteems every day the same. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. Rom. 14:5 If you are fully persuaded in your own mind that what you are doing is right, you will not experience confusion, anger or fear when someone disagrees with you. If you are not fully persuaded, you can be right and still feel wrong when challenged. A grown up should make decisions based on fact, not on hearsay. Are you ready to grow up? |