#Spiritual Maturity

 

Have you ever been in a situation as a believer where you  want to grow deeper and deeper in Christ, which means killing your flesh and submitting to God? Ignoring what is going on around you and having a keen ear to what the Lord is telling you to do? Or even in your day to day life? You want to better yourself, whether that be eating healthy, being more positive, prioritizing your life ect.....

Whenever you try to better yourself you will always have that special someone in your ear either talking about you (negatively), how you've changed, you think you're better than everyone else, you're a holy roller ect. I know I've experienced that.

I had an incident where a guy that I know said that I was  " Holier then thou" because I stopped drinking, partying, and started going back to church ect and chose to follow after Christ. I was not sure if I was to take offense to what he said or to just ignore and go about my business. Me being the person I am, I chose to speak up and let him know I am not perfect by any mean, I just choose to live a life that pleases God and obey his word. It still left a bad taste in my mouth afterwards but I came to understand that regardless people are going to find fault with you whether or not you change.

   Fault Finding: 

I always, ALWAYS find it funny ( not really),  when a believer has a weak moment and they find themselves in a situation where they go back to their old ways and end up "backsliding". You have those who find fault and are so quick to throw scripture verses and try to condemn you. I feel like people forget that we are human and we mess up. We are not perfect by any means. If that was the  case we would not need The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit on a daily basis to help us.

Proverbs 11:12-13 says ;  He who belittles and despises his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding keeps silent. He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy and faithful in spirit keeps the matter hidden.

Those that are quick to find fault in others and have a  critical attitude can hinder their walk with God and distract them from God's purpose is for their life. It is easy for us to find fault with others but before we go to check someone about what they did wrong check yourself first!  ( Matthew 7:3). As believers ( and I've said this in other posts) we need to encourage, correct one another with love and just pray for one another when we see that our brother or sister in Christ is having  a weak moment and need strength.

Milk Vs Meat (Hebrews 5:12-14; scripture below)

Milk as it relates to your Spiritual Maturity means that you are still a spiritual infant . You are still learning and growing in certain areas in your life. Just like a baby who needs to be fed milk for strength and nourishment that's the same way Milk correlates to a new believer. You will go through tests to see where you are strong and where you are weak, what areas God can and cannot trust you in, are you ready for the next level ect. You will be tested in all stages of Growth in the Lord.

Meat as it relates to your Spiritual Maturity means that you've studied to show yourself approved. You've been through the fire and experienced things that should have broke you, but because of where you are in your walk with Christ you overcame and were not defeated. This level of Spiritual Maturity shows that you have grown, matured( you're not perfect, nobody's perfect but God himself), you know right from wrong, you're able to discern things ect.  You are at another level of service to God.

Signs of Maturity in Christ

1. The highs and lows of life don’t impact your relationship with God.
2. You find value in the trivial seasons of life.
3. You are at peace with situations beyond your control.
4. You don’t allow disciplines to take a back seat.
5. You maintain a childlike sense of wonder and awe.
6. You do not compare yourself to others.
7. You listen to others who have a different viewpoint…with the goal of growing and not correcting.
8. You understand Christianity doesn’t have an on/off switch

  Spiritual Maturity is NOT:

1. Spiritual maturity is not about age.
2. Spiritual maturity is not about achievements.
3. Spiritual maturity is not about appearance.

                            3 Scripture Verses About Maturity in Christ

1 Corinthians 14:20;  “Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.

 Wisdom comes from the Holy Spirit, from the Word of God and from teachers who diligently study the Word on a regular basis.  Maturity does not happen automatically.  It is hard work but we can also ask God for wisdom and there is no reason that He won’t give it to us 

 Hebrews 5: 12-14;  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 [doctrinal 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.

2 Peter 3: 16-18: speaking about these things as he does in all of his letters. In which there are some things that are difficult to understand, which the untaught and unstable [who have fallen into error] twist and misinterpret, just as they do the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. ¹⁷ Therefore, [let me warn you] beloved, knowing these things beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men [who distort doctrine] and fall from your own steadfastness [of mind, knowledge, truth, and faith], ¹⁸ but grow [spiritually mature] in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory (honor, majesty, splendor), both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

  Those who are ignorant of the Scriptures can take scripture out of context and create a false one .  One way to avoid this is to grow in the  knowledge of our Lord. If you take the time out to study the bible you will be able to discern and understand exactly what the word is saying, and there will be no need for you to create your own idea of what you THINK it means.

 So I want you to do a self check and see where you fall on the spiritual growth spectrum!xoxo......Z.M <3