LFM – 2016 Nov 13: Graduating into Spiritual Maturity…

LFM – 13 Nov 2016

• Let’s not be perishing / suffering in our families / lives for lack of knowledge => Hosea 4:6
• Love & Respect is the basic blueprint on how to maintain ones marriage.
• => Ugeuzi ya serikali ya nyumba => Someone may show:
• ->love to you wife,
• -> respect to your husband
• God honours the word of those He gives Power & Authority to represent Him
• => Genesis 27 => Isaac giving Jacob the 1st born blessing
• BUT God will also honour the cries of those He has commanded to be under authority.
• => 1 Peter 3:7 => Authority’s prayers hindered or ineffective.
• Requires goodwill of those under them??
• God does not take kindly to anyone who misrepresents Him or His Word => Matthew 18:6-7&10
• God makes us interdependent so that we work together in Love & Harmony => UNITY
• => God blesses unity in family, His favour follows where is secure => Proverbs 22:10 (NKJV)

The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it.

=> ?? If God blessed us with riches, how would we react?

=> Get another wife, forget our families & start enjoying life? Become too busy for God & family? — Mungu amenibariki na kazi, wacha niifanye Mon – Sun?

Graduating to the next level of Spiritual Maturity

• Michael’s school to see the progress: From play group => kulala na kucheza to Nursery => starting to form words and being given homework ==> Mental & physical maturity
• As a father, I am very happy / proud to see that Michael is growing and maturing – What of our heavenly Father? Huyu anaweza linda mali yangu. => Spiritual maturity
• We should also be growing in spiritual maturity => from kulala kwa kanisa na kuichukua kimchezo mchezo to maturing in spiritual things of reading & meditating on the Word, praying, fasting – focus on spiritual things => Spiritual homework
• My testimony: From sitting at the back of the Church to leading Bible study at the front
• Graduating from being just a Church goer, to growing in spiritual maturity.
• Not just going to Church just because I know the pastor,…It is what we have been doing since I was a child,…What will others say if I don’t go, …
• Not coming to Church and start looking at my watch in impatience…when will the Pastor finish..?
• God is waiting to bless us…Am I willing to listen and be obedient? 

Was really challenged in my spiritual life….

• Hebrews 5:11-14 (AMP)

11 Concerning this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull and sluggish in [your spiritual] hearing and disinclined to listen. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers [because of the time you have had to learn these truths], you actually need someone to teach you again the elementary principles of God’s word [from the beginning], and you have come to be continually in need of milk, not solid food. 13 For everyone who lives on milk is [doctrinally inexperienced and] unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a spiritual infant. 14 But solid food is for the [spiritually] mature, whose senses are trained by practice to distinguish between what is morally good and what is evil.

• Hebrews 6:1-8, 9-12 (AMP)

Therefore let us get past the elementary stage in the teachings about the Christ, advancing on to maturity and perfection and spiritual completeness, [doing this] without laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 of teaching about washings (ritual purifications), the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. [These are all important matters in which you should have been proficient long ago.] 3 And we will do this [that is, proceed to maturity], if God permits. 4 For [it is impossible to restore to repentance] those who have once been enlightened [spiritually] and who have [a]tasted and consciously experienced the heavenly gift and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted and consciously experienced the good word of God and the powers of the age (world) to come, 6 [b]and then have fallen away—it is impossible to bring them back again to repentance, since they again nail the Son of God on the cross [for as far as they are concerned, they are treating the death of Christ as if they were not saved by it], and are holding Him up again to public disgrace. 7 For soil that drinks the rain which often falls on it and produces crops useful to those for whose benefit it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God; 8 but if it persistently produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.

• Hebrews 6:9-12 (AMP) 

9 But, beloved, even though we speak to you in this way, [c]we are convinced of better things concerning you, and of things that accompany salvation. 10 For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown for His name in ministering to [the needs of] the saints (God’s people), as you do.11 And we desire for each one of you to show the same diligence [all the way through] so as to realize and enjoy the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you will not be [spiritually] sluggish, but [will instead be] imitators of those who through faith [lean on God with absolute trust and confidence in Him and in His power] and by patient endurance [even when suffering] are [now] inheriting the promises.

A basic summary of what Christian life is supposed to be about: Do I really know & understand?

• Aligning our lives / mission in line with God’s Vision through Jesus Christ => Luke 4:18-19 
• Anointed / Empowered by the Holy Spirit to: [know-apply/accept , know-apply]

1. Preach Good News to the poor => Revelation of Jesus as the Son of God – Relationship
2. Proclaim that captives will be released from sin => Revelation as Saviour / Messiah
3. Proclaim that the blind will see => Light of the World – spiritual perspective — knowing rights
4. Proclaim that the oppressed will be set free => exercising our rights => Its a spiritual war
5. Living in a time of the Lord’s Favour => Revelation of Jesus as Jehovah — I AM

Am I building my life according to God’s design? Or still insisting I know better than the Author!?

• Foundation => Jesus Christ the Messiah => the Alpha & Omega of everything
• Pillars => Matthew 4 – An example by Jesus
• ==> Like a 3 legged stool, all are essential for sustaining a successful Christian lifestyle

1. Prayer => intimacy & relationship => Lifting our eyes to heaven => Deals with pride / makuu
2. Fasting => Focus on Spiritual things away from self & world => Deals with the flesh

• ==>Romans 14:17(NKJV) => for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 

3. Word => Discerning the Voice & Heart of God => Knowing & understanding every Word from God. Walking in divine revelation.

As we prepare to receive Christ today, let us:

• Make a commitment to renew our relationship with Him
• Ask for His help to graduate – move us into to the next level of spiritual meat from milk
• => May He change in us what needs to be changed, transform in what needs to be transformed and heal in us what needs to be healed.
• Let’s get our lives (spiritual) in order:
• ==>  Ourselves => bado nabebana na mzigo wa nani – whose testimony am I carrying?
• ==> Families => take my responsibility over my spouse and children ensuring that we are bringing up soldiers for Christ not the enemy. Putting our marriage & families over a foundation of Jesus Christ => Arrange wedding in Church inviting God officially into our marriage
• ==> God given responsibilities => Work and ministry. Faithful in our tithes
• Let us partake in the divine inheritance that He has made available through the finished work of the Cross of Calvary
• ==>  The Blood that washes away our sins making us the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus
• ==> The Resurrection that empowers us to live life and life more abundantly => Favour

May we not only TASTE & See that the Lord is Good,

But also TEST and see that He is indeed Faithful & True

Let’s honour God by showing Him our faith,

God honours faith and He will show us His faithfulness.