Endurance Teaches Maturity

In our everyday lives we must endure many burdens. But when we are a Christian these difficult things actually have a purpose. When we have trials they can teach us to be righteous. During the Sermon on the Mount Jesus made this statement: Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matt 5:10 KJV). It is how we handle these things. Sometimes at work our problems seem large but we know that inside of the church we find help through joy, peace and loving people. The church is not perfect however. Believe it or not, the righteous Church does upset worldly people at times. Some people feel their guilt by simply being around righteousness. Anyway, a Christian strives for righteousness so that they will mature and please God.

Ridicule is another thing that causes people to stay away from God and His Church. It is possible that worldly people can feel that living a righteous life will bring them ridicule or persecution. A lack of popularity is very frightening to some people. How sad it is when a frightened person misses out on the pleasures of eternity in Heaven because of worldly interest. It is fairly well known that unsaved people are afraid to give up their worldly lives. The astonishing thing is that many believers who attend church also fear this. They will not confess their love for Jesus to outsiders because of ridicule. Many times when they should stand up for righteousness, we do not hear a word out of them. We must make Jesus the Lord of our life. 

People know that in their place of work there may be reprisals for going against the worldly flow of events. There have been times when unbelievers curse the name of God and a believer will not even defend the Savior. We could say that a worldly person who fears ridicule has a reasonable excuse. Of course, God is not interested in our reasoning but only in our faith. However a believer should be wholeheartedly confessing the Lord because it is our calling. Peter said: But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you. For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. (1 Peter 2:20-21 NLT). God has called His people to live righteously and He is pleased when we endure suffering for Him.

At some time or another all Christians will be persecuted for righteousness sake. In fact, Jesus was killed for His perfect life. We must reach an understanding within ourselves by admitting that suffering for righteousness is a normal part of a faithful life. Thankfully, this life is not as hard as we imagine.  Jesus wanted to relieve our fears when He said: For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light. (Matt 11:30 NLT). There is a power that comes into a Christian when they live by faith. This power makes a righteous life easy and gives us internal peace at the same time. When we witness to someone we should attempt to put them at ease while we take our stand for righteousness. By faith, the Spirit will give us the words to speak. 

Our life of faith is all about righteousness. Paul talked about his life: I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! (Phil 3:9-11 NLT). After clearly saying that he became righteous through faith in Christ, he goes on to say that suffering ridicule or persecution for this righteousness of Christ is what he expects. God’s way includes our faith and the power of the Spirit living in us. This is what it means to identify with Christ. 

A good life with Jesus is difficult but there are great rewards.  Paul explains: In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. (Romans 8:17 NLT). Every Christian loves to have the hope of glory on their mind but we sometimes forget that we must share His sufferings. Our church is made up of God’s children of faith and we must work together through the trials of this life. It is very hard to suffer alone but this is one of the reasons Jesus made us into a church. It is a great honor to be allowed to identify ourselves with the Savior of the world. But it is our duty to adhere to the members of a local church. 

Paul was a very tough, down to earth man who was in jail when he said that suffering was a great privilege. The Scripture says: For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. We are in this struggle together. (Phil 1:29-30 NLT). We can see here that living a righteous life is an honor and that all the church should enter the struggle together. Our church today has not had much physical abuse but we certainly can be involved in some serious mental suffering. Always remember that the Spirit of Jesus came to Earth to comfort the followers of Christ. With the Spirit’s help we are able to stand up for Jesus in every situation. 

Peter also wrote about living a righteous life and he had learned everything the hard way. Look at what he said: But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. (1 Peter 3:14-15 NLT). This was the same man that had been afraid to claim the friendship of Jesus before the Spirit came. Some people ask why Christians persist in serving the Lord. We can never completely explain our actions. Most people are very shallow and deceit can hold them in ignorance. The only way to really understand Christian service is to enter into a life of faith.

Remember that the world is sometimes frightened by our suffering. They don’t have the strength in themselves. Our life is no longer about our own desires. The Scripture says: Be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering… So be happy when you are insulted for being a Christian, for then the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. (1 Peter 4:13-14 NLT). When the Spirit of God rests upon us, we can relax in any situation. We know that by God’s grace the Savior tasted death for everyone. Now we have a chance to enter Glory as a child of the King. Our life should be an example of Jesus that is clear to everyone.

The people of the world can see Jesus in a Christian. They react because they do not understand. It is possible that the world can sense the fact that we will be rulers someday. This certainly does not make sense to them. But Paul said very clearly:  This is a trustworthy saying: If we die with him, we will also live with him. If we endure hardship, we will reign with him. (2 Tim 2:11-12 NLT). My friends, it will be wonderful to reign with Jesus someday. We must be careful to stay in the power of the Spirit. Trying to go it alone will always end up badly. Because the world is afraid of Christianity, they are always attempting to pull us back into their worldly ways. Don’t let this happen. Remember, our hope is always in the Lord.

Inner Strength

The greatest “event” possible in the life of anyone is to obtain eternal life. Eternal life actually begins the moment we are saved. A spiritual strength begins to build inside of us. This strength was never there before. It is a sign to us that something real has taken place in our life. Our new abilities enable us to live in a way that pleases God. Some church people have made the mistake of thinking that simply walking down the aisle is enough. The formal action of joining a church has fooled some people into thinking they are saved. Thankfully, at some later time in life, some of these deceived people do have an actual encounter with God. When we become saved there will be a whole different motivation for our new life.

When the Spirit of God moves inside a person they should take this special time of awareness to dedicate their life to God. This is what Jesus said: If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.  Mark 8:34-36 (NLT) There are only a few humble people who will listen to the inner voice that will ask them to repent and spend their life for God. It is responding to God with our whole life that contains the assurance of being delivered from judgment day. Most people will hold on to their worldly life until they die. 

If real salvation comes to us the new birth event will include the Spirit moving into our body and our whole life will then belong to the Lord. Jesus said: I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of … the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.  So don’t be surprised when I say, "You must be born again.”  John 3:5-8 (NLT) Never fear the Spirit living in you because Jesus tells us that His burden is light. When the new birth event takes place most people are not cognitive of the Spirit’s presence in their body. We will learn to know Him as our new life grows. Jesus said that every human must be born for a second time. 

At our salvation, the Spirit moves in and brings everything with Him that God has offered to a redeemed human. We must accept every new thing He has for us. Immediately after salvation a person will usually feel as if the weight of sin has been lifted off their shoulders and elation carries them along for a few months. However, spiritual maturity will require a process of perception to be fostered in regard to the Spirit. Most of us are unaware of the Spirits many gifts which at some point will require us to move from our childish beginnings toward spiritual adulthood. At first we are usually unaware of the presence of Jesus inside us. Then, as we begin to have experiences with the Spirit, He will become our dearest friend. 

When we begin to experience the Spirit in our daily life it is the most wonderful thing that can happen to us. Paul said: You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God.  Romans 8:9-11 (NLT) Things like love, joy, and peace will accompany our awakening to the guidance of the Spirit. As we learn to perceive the presence of the Spirit we will notice that spiritual experiences that are becoming part of our everyday life. Our salvation event becomes a continuing experience. 

The purpose of the Spirit in us is to work a twofold manifestation. First, is that our personal life is completely changed. Second, we begin to see ourselves as part of a church. Look at the beauty of Paul’s description: we are God’s masterpiece. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit. Eph 2:19-22 (NLT) We are God’s masterpiece and His plan is to use us as part of His holy temple. WOW! There is nothing that human’s can experience to ever compare with the building of God’s temple. 

To really know God personally, we must move beyond our salvation and begin to have conscious experiences with the Spirit. For example, there is always a discussion about whether or not a Christian is perfect. If a person has only had the event of salvation it may soon be argued that this man is certainly not perfect. However, when a Christian becomes aware of the Spirit working in them they will begin to realize their new power. The Bible says: He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Eph 2:10 We are completely new in Jesus Christ when the Spirit controls our life. This completion or perfection is how we are able to die perfect and go directly to be with God. 

There is a purpose for the Christian life. It is to be a servant of God. We are not saved for any other reason. Paul wanted us to know the Spirit: I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Eph 3:16-17 (NLT) Somehow many American believers have become afraid to even discuss the Spirit. They are limiting the most important experience needed for living a proper Christian life. Can we see how important it is for us to become aware of the Spirit in us and to experience a life controlled by Him? How great it is that we are allowed to follow the leading of the Spirit and become a part of God’s eternity.

Everything that needs to happen for a redeemed person to enter a life with God has already been done, excluding the change of our physical body. Our job is to simply accept all that Jesus has done as our own truth. Jesus is the head of the church and a church is perfect when the life of the Spirit is flowing through it. We are part of something big: Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.  Eph 4:3-6 (NLT) There was no church in the Old Testament. Thank the Lord we have been born at a time when the Spirit comes to live in Christians.

Jesus ascended to His Throne of the Redeemer and then God sent the Spirit down to live in His family.  The possibility of building the Church is now a reality. After the salvation event a human can now begin to experience their growth into part of Christ’s Body. Paul said: growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. Eph 4:15-16 (NLT) Because of our position in the body of Christ, the Bible says that we help display God’s wisdom. We are members of God’s family and He relies on us to be good servants. 

Paul taught us that the local church must be doing the work of God. It is important that we belong to a local Christian group. There is no way that an individual can do the work that God wants done without the help of brothers and sisters. When we attend church, we should be excited about the opportunity to encourage the other members. The body of Christ is greatly loved by God. We must work together so that the power of God will touch someone’s life. Every Christian has the responsibility to live as much like the Savior as possible. Remember that Jesus is the Head and we are intended to be a small part of His Church. Christian friend, ask God to expand your born-again event into a wonderful life-long experience.