The birth of Jesus revealed and introduced the existence of a Triune God

            Matthew 1:18-25

Intro

The Angel announced Who the Father of the Baby was; What His gender and name was to be.

There was reason for doing it in this particular way.

Firstly, the divine conception declared that the Baby to be born was NO

Ordinary human being/person. 

Secondly, the reason for stating His gender was because of His relation to the

Father as Son.

Thirdly, the reason for the name was because Hebrew culture necessitated

the use of a name that will represent the person’s character.

Jesus is the Greek form of Yeshua/Joshua; which means “the Lord saves”.

The mission/purpose of Jesus was declared within His Name ie to save His 

people from their sins.

The reference made to the Holy Spirit during the account of Jesus’ birth

revealed and introduced the existence of the Triune God.

Matthew’s Gospel account was originally directed to the Jewish nation, who believed in a Monotheistic God. It was thus of utmost importance to reveal the Truth of a Triune God.

1. The Role of His earthly parents

·        The mission of Jesus was extremely important to take risks and entrust a helpless baby to humanity with shortcomings and weakness.

·        His “earthly parents” had to meet God’s requirements of a good character and heart.

·        Both Mary and Joseph were righteous, upright, just, individuals of principles and honor.

·        Because Jesus was fully human (and fully God) they had to nurture Him in a God-fearing home.

They cared for Him and provided His needs

·        They were the primary mentors to groom/prepare Him for His Mission. 

They dedicated Him to the Father on the 8^th day as required;

taught Him the Scriptures, and took Him to the Temple for the annual feasts

2. The Role of Jesus

·        to save humanity from our sins .

he could only do so by  dying on the cross, because without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness of sins.

·        To renew all things pertaining to spiritual matters

Free access to the Father –no need to go through a priest

All people have equal status before the Father, whether Jew or Gentile; male or female;

slave or free.

·        To Restore the earth

·        To defeat Satan and the power/sting of death

·        To reconcile humanity to the Father

3. The Role of the Holy Spirit in the life of Jesus:

·        The Holy Spirit was the “Seed” for His conception

·        He was present during the Baptism of Jesus

·        The Holy Spirit was present during His temptation, walk/journey and service

·        He was present at His resurrection

·        The Holy Spirit was and still is the witness of Jesus in the lives of believers

The Holy Spirit was in existence before Christ ascended into heaven.

Conclusion

The Announcement of the Father’s love for humanity has now gone out into all the earth.

The whole world is celebrating Christmas even though some do not know what it’s really about. He came down to the earth Himself to save us through Jesus, the Messiah.

For many it’s a time of festivities, holidays, gifts and dress-ups.

Christmas is really about the celebration of the birth of the Messiah and thankfulness for The Father’s grace, compassion and mercy towards humanity.

“Yeshua”, the Son truly has His Father’s Nature and certainly lived up to His Name and Mission to save.

Actions speak louder than words

                                                               

                                                          2 Corinthians 6: 1-10

Text V.4

Intro

There are billions of people who profess to be Christians/disciples of Jesus; in total 2.18 billion world-wide as at 2010.Yet so many prove this statement to the contrary by their actions.

To be a follower of Jesus, means that you must uphold His teachings and follow His example.

Where are the children of the Light when there are so much darkness in the world and our immediate surroundings between friends, family and community?

Talk is cheap.

Its easier to speak things, but its more difficult to action things.

The prove of our faith and trust in Jesus is revealed through the following:

·         How we value God’s grace

·         How we facilitate the relationship between Jesus and others

·         How we commend/prove ourselves through various circumstances

1.Value God’s grace

Refrain from taking God’s grace for granted by heeding to His voice when His Spirit speaks/guides/instructs

Never disregard the favour of God by taking correction/discipline or guidance lightly.

When His Spirit calls you to repentance; do so

When He calls you to act for His Kingdom, do so.

“Now” means in the present.

Don’t delay for tomorrow or later.

Act the moment you hear Him speaking to you.

2. Facilitate the relationship between Jesus and others    

This is done by way of not placing any obstacles in anyone’s path. Refrain from controversial topics that will result in arguments or division ie  entertainment pursuits like alcohol; tobacco; dance-clubs; casino’s etc

Allow the Holy Spirit to minister to the person’s heart and conscience instead.

Refrain from engaging in activities that will shame the Name of Jesus.(See Galatians 5:19-21)

Do not give people a reason to doubt in the transformation power of Jesus by not growing /developing in your spiritual life.

Live by the Spirit then you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

Prove or commend yourself as an ambassador of Jesus through:

·         Endurance

·         Troubles

·         Hardships and distresses

·         Diligence/Hard work

·         Sleepless nights (of prayer for lost souls)

·         Purity-holiness/Christlikeness

·         In hunger-don’t stop your work for God when you are in need or lack

·         In kindness-be not arrogant/proud

·         In understanding-accept and respect each other’s differences of opinion and perspective of life

·         In sincere love-no falseness

·         In truthful speech-speak openly & honestly with each other;(say what you mean & mean what you say)

·         In the power of God-do nothing in your own strength and wisdom.

·         Through glory and dishonour ie achievements and failures

·         Genuinness /be always authentic

·         Be the same person at work, home; your recreational pursuits; your social circles.

Even though people may regard you as an imposter for your sincerity, your conscience will be at peace. You don’t need to defend yourself at all

·         Known yet regarded as unknown

Your deeds and heart may not be known to people, but they are known to God.

·         Dying, yet we live on

Die to self and all other worldly pursuits

·         Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.

·         Making many rich, though poor

o   Enrich others with the Word; your example and testimony

·         You may have nothing, but when you have God, you have everything;

You may have everything, but when you don’t have God, you have nothing.

If God be for you, who can be against you?

Conclusion

Applicable to the candidates who will be taken in as members today:

You are signifying your faith and trust in Jesus by becoming part of the Body of Christ by taking up

membership locally.

The membership total of the Church of the Nazarene is currently 2 295,106 as at September 2014.

You are also signifying your availability to become a fellow-worker with us.

No matter how small or insignificant your contribution may be in your eyes, in the eyes of God it

means much.

“If you can’t do great things, do small things in a great way”(Napoleon Hill),

Redeemed, Restored, Renewed!

Genesis 6:5-22;     7:1-7; 10-12

Intro

Sin was the reason why God brought the flood upon the earth.

His holiness could no longer look upon the destruction of sin and the evil within the hearts of

people.

It pained Him to see the evil and sin in the hearts of mankind .He was grieved that He made

Us.

IT pained Him even more to destroy His most beloved creation.

Even though the remnant introduced a new breed of people for a while, they soon became defiled

again because the problem of sin was beyond the physical.

Sin stems from the heart of mankind.

The solution needed had to be something more than a clean slate/new beginning/a new earth.

Redeemed

Noah was a righteous, blameless man among that generation, so he found favour with God.

His whole family was saved too as a result of his righteousness.

God is still pursuing sinners, because He wants to redeem them.

We /humanity do not have the power to master sin ourselves because of our fallen nature.

Restored

God remembered Noah, his family and the animals, so He restored the earth again.

The water receded and life blossomed again

Restoration was progressive.

This is evident in the account of the dove that had to be released out of the Ark three times

before it found a place to set foot . It twice returned to the earth.

God is still pursuing the broken and distressed in spirit, because He wants to restore them/you.

We are unable to heal/restore our own brokenness too because of our finite/limited power.

Renewed

Noah was renewed/revived when God blessed him and his sons to multiply.

They literally started from scratch again because they were the only human beings alive on the earth.

God is still pursuing those who are weary and tired of spirit because He wants to revive/renew them/you.

Humanity do not have the ability to rise back on our feet again in our own strength.

Our own strength is short-lived

 Only the Lord can strengthen, renew and revive!

Conclusion

Isaiah 54:7-10

The same scenario is repeating itself all over again.

Sin and lawlessness is the order of our day.

What is stopping God from destroying this earth again?

Would HE even find people who are righteous and blameless as in the day of Noah?

Is it any wonder that Jesus asked whether He would still find faith on the earth on His return?

For a brief moment God abandoned the earth and it was destroyed through the floods, but God  relented.

HE Had compassion on His creation.

He remembered that we are dust

His covenant of peace and unconditional love through our Redeemer, Jesus, prohibits Him.

Secondly, the Lord swore by Himself that He would never do it again.

 He is not the son of man to lie to us .He will keep His Word.

 

Prioritizing ensures a successful mission/life

Acts 22:1-21

Intro:

Success in life or a mission is determined by setting priorities for yourself.

Setting of priorities relates to choices and requires wisdom.

Every individual has limited time, energy and resources. It is thus of the utmost importance to

use it wisely.

Setting of priorities will enable you to take hold of that which you value. It will also assist you to

utilize limited resources, energy and time to the maximum.

Priorities reveals Value;

It reveals Purpose &

It reveals obedience

Paul’s life like that of Jesus’ earthly life serves as a good example of this truth.

1.Paul’s Purpose

Acts 26:16 & 18

Jesus said that Paul’s purpose was to be a servant and a witness of that which he has seen of Him

and that which He will still show him.

Jesus told Paul that he was going to send him to the Gentiles to open their eyes

 and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God,

so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by

faith in Him.   

When Jesus commissioned/called Paul, his assumption was that it was to work

with the Jews in Jerusalem, but the Lord’s assignment to him was to the Gentiles far away .

Paul confessed his obsession with the people of the Way during his appeal to King Agrippa.

He went from one synagogue to another and even foreign places to punish the Christians.

It was during one of these visits that he met Jesus through a blazing light from heaven.

It was so bright that it blinded him for several days.

After his conversion, Paul’s mission was clearly visible through his priorities.

Before then, he only had a form of godliness. His intentions were good in trying to defend

the Truth of God (according to his prior understanding and teaching); but it was not the absolute

Truth. This Jesus revealed to him during his Damascus experience.

“Life takes on meaning when you become motivated, set goals and charge after them in an

unstoppable manner” (Les Brown)

Do your priorities reflect God’s mission and purpose for you and a lost world?

Paul’s values

Acts 24 :16

After his conversion, Paul took a conscientious decision that a clean conscience before God and

man/people and his relationship with Jesus are the two most important factors in his life and that

everything else in his life should centre on it.

His priorities clearly revealed that which he valued.

He valued the Word of God and studied under one of the greatest teachers of his time-named

Gamaliel. The God-Head must have seen Paul’s zeal for Him through his heart…. even though it was

slightly misguided.

His prior learning in the OT (Old Testament) has laid a solid foundation for him to be an effective

witness of Jesus Christ.

Paul was an important LINK /MIDDLEMAN between the OT and NT because of his knowledge and

experience on the road to Damascus with Jesus.  

We are privileged to have all three important components, the Old Testament, the New Testament  

and the Holy Spirit to help us be effective witnesses and successful servants in our missions.

Paul was a man who believed and spent much time in prayer.

Because he valued his relationship with Jesus more, he was NOT a people-pleaser.

We cannot fulfil the Lord’s expectations and that which people may place on us. We have to decide

who we value more-Jesus or people.

Our priorities will thus reflect who and what we value

Do your priorities reflect that which you value ?

“It’s not hard to make decisions once you know what your values are”(Roy E Disney)

Paul’s Obedience

Acts 21:13

His priorities revealed his obedience to Jesus.

He was obedient to the point of captivity, suffering, hunger, beatings, ship-wrecks, beatings.

He endured it all for the sake of the Name of Jesus.

Paul considered his life worth nothing to him, but to successfully complete his mission.

He was bold and fearless because he knew Who instructed him and Who his Helper was.

He witnessed to kings and governors-people of influence as a result of his obedience.

His understanding of a Monotheistic God was totally changed after meeting Jesus as a blazing light.

Conclusion

Ecclesiastes 9:11

“The fastest runner does not always win the race;

The strongest warrior does not always win the battle…..”

The wise person who orders his/her life does.

Setting priorities will enable you to:

·         Be effective

·         Be focussed

·         Be at peace

·         Be joyful

·         Regain or retain inner strength

·         Make the right choices

If you don’t Prioritize you will run the risk of :

·         Burn-out

·         Discouragement

·         Failure

Prioritizing ensures a successful mission and life!!

 

ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER

Heb 3:13

Encourage one another daily as long as it is called, Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

Encourage

One specially effective way of encouraging one another, is to create a bond of love through the common purpose of worshiping God together.

Why should we make a habit of congregating in a place which we call a church?

1.      To enable us to be united in our spiritual mission: To meet with God on one particular day of the week.

2.     Because the Bible tells us how important it is

Heb 11:25  Let us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

3.     To listen to what God has given His servant to preach from His Word.  Sometimes choir or a gifted singer can also bring a message through the anointed words of songs or hymns.

4.     To praise Him with congregational singing.

5.     To stimulate and encourage each other by greeting one another. No stranger should ever leave the sanctuary feeling isolated and lonely. People need to be recognised and respected. The first impression is always a lasting impression.

How Can We Encourage One Another

Heb 10:19-25

19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,  20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,  21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,

 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

What effect does encouragement have?

It serves to give a person eagerness to go on with life.

It also helps people to realise how important they are.

NB

 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-- and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

That day!  The most dreaded day of our lives; nobody wants to die! But it will come some time in the future. It will “come to pass”. It is precisely this day that we are being prepared for. Death for a saint is a blessing; for the unsaved, it is the cul de sac that turns away from the road to heaven.

Heb 3:12-14

12 See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.

13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.

 14 We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.

Your salvation is extremely precious to you and to God

The enemy of the soul has many weapons. His objective is to persuade you to give up; to surrender your relationship with God.

One of his most effective weapons is discouragement.

How Does Discouragement Start?

Unrealised expectations= disappointment – the answer HOPE

Disappointment leads to discouragement = despair= defeat=desertion = destruction

. . . .If we fail to encourage and be encouraged, and we drift from one place to another looking for a rest for our souls, we will find ourselves being tossed by every wave and every wind of teaching by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.

False religion leads to false expectations that inevitably lead to disappointment and the chain of spiritual terror.

Today ! “Tomorrow is the day when idle men work and fools repent.

Tomorrow is Satan’s today; he doesn’t care what good resolutions you make, if only you fix them for tomorrow (John Wesley)

The sinful, unbelieving heart

If my religion cannot produce a purified heart, wherein there is no sinfulness, then my religion is false. My Christ can cleanse my heart from all sin and unrighteousness (1JJn 1:7).

No professing Christian can believe that they are saved unless it is from sin, and that they know that they can never be admitted to a holy haven hereafter, unless they are made pure by the blood of Jesus TODAY!

Don’t be discouraged by the awesome concept of human holiness. If holiness is important then is must be easily understood.

Does God’s Word demand it?

Can I do it myself?

Can God do it?

What must I do to have this assurance? 

Born again – first essential step

Seeking after blessings from God follows the first step Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Be obedient to the Word of God so that God has free access to your heart.

Your faith will be put to the test from time to time in order to strengthen your relationship with God. Gradually, as your faith grows stronger, your light will burn brighter and you will be a great supporter in the ministry of encouragement.

Matt 6:33 coupled with Mal 3:8-10 will show you how much you trust in God’s promises.

Mat 6:33 Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you.

Mal 3:8-10

“Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But, you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ “in tithes and offerings, You are under a curse - the whole nation of you- because you are robbing me. 10. Bring the whole tithe into the store house, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says, Lord Almighty”

Do you believe that God will bless you as He promises?

Will you dare to test God by giving the whole tithe (one tenth of the gross salary or whatever you earn)?  Can you afford not to do as God says you should?

Caution. You must avoid believing that God will double your salary, or that God will send money to you because of His promise. Don’t expect anything, Just give what God wants you to give so that your faith will be rewarded. You will be very surprised when you look back one day after you begin to tithe as a healthy spiritual habit.  

 Conclusion

If a son should ask his father for bread, . . . . How much more will your Father in heaven give you His Spirit?

 Encourage one another daily as long as it is called, Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

UNIQUELY CREATED FOR SERVICE

Mark 3:13-19   &  6 :6-13; 30

Jesus called the 12 men He wanted to spread the Gospel.

The choice was His because He created them uniquely for the task.

He chose Judas too even though He knew that he was going to betray Him. Why?

God used the 12 tribes to usher in the Old Covenant

Jesus, used the 12 disciples to usher in the New Covenant.

He chose them :

·         To Be with Him-dual purpose: to learn from Him & to stress the importance of working as a collective

·         To preach

·         To give them authority

“The beginning is the most important part of the work” (Plato)

1.Strategy

Jesus sent them out in 2’s.Why?

·         Accountability-to encourage integrity & transparency

·         Support-to meet the psychological & physiological needs

·         Companionship-to meet their social needs

2.Instructions

·         Don’t worry about your physical needs-food & clothes

·         Stay at 1 house when in a particular town once accepted

They had to move around from house to house to meet the needs of the people

The needs of the disciples had to be met at one specific place.

·         He warned that some people may not welcome them

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give”(Winston Churchill)

3.Monitored progress

They reported all they had done & taught

Was Jesus pleased /ashamed/disappointed by their reports?

How about our local and district reports?

 Conclusion

Psalm 139:1-5

God knows you because He has created YOU for a specific service/task

He knows your concerns, thoughts, ways and deeds

He will lead you at times

Other times, He will follow you in order to cover you

Sometimes, He will place His hand of blessing upon your head-to say “I am pleased”.

“Until you value yourself, you won’t value your time.

Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it”       (Scott Peck)

If you value yourself, your time, your relationship with the Lord & others then YOU will….

·         Start the work( for some)

·         Continue the work (some) The in-between is normally the most difficult, because we get discouraged and are tempted to give up

·         Complete the work (others)

 

All things new

                                                                             

                                                            Luke 5:36-39

Intro

Some things in life, we like new, but some things we prefer the old.

Likes include: clothes, shoes, house, car, adventure (for the Adrenaline junkies) or whatever it is you value.

Dislikes: new beginnings, plans, vision and goals etc

Human beings by inherent nature don’t like NEWNESS.

Why?

God wants to do something new in our lives/His church/world,

BUT human beings are creatures of habit and it is therefore difficult to let go of the old things.

Jesus had a hard time to usher in the New Dispensation because people were so stuck in their ways.

New wine into new wineskins =New Relationships

Luke 8:19-21

Let go of past relationships that do not add value to God’s Kingdom or your life.

Continue to pray for them and encourage them from time to time, but don’t waste ALL your energy

and time on them.

Build new Christ-centred relationships and like-minded people

Relationships that have Christ at their centre are lasting.

It is also beneficial to both parties because everyone needs someone (other than a spouse of course)

to offer God-directed counsel at times.

New wine into new wineskins=New Habits

Luke 6:1-5

It’s difficult to break habits & traditions

Can you identify a habit in your life that is difficult to break? Jesus can help you break it

Honouring the Sabbath Day was part of tradition already for the “religious sector”

(Pharisees & Priests).

They could not see that Jesus was busy doing a new thing among His children

The Sabbath no longer had any real substance or meaning to them. It was not about

Holiness but activity ……

DOING NOTHING

Their focus was in the wrong place

Any activity done with the right motive glorifies God.

How can the healing of a person not glorify the Father?

David broke the tradition/habit to eat the bread that was preserved for the priests only to fill their hunger needs

New Wine into New wineskins=New Character

Matthew 5:3-12

The Holy Spirit cannot operate through an old character.

Our characters must be renewed in order to experience newness of life..

The Holy Spirit wants to make ALL things new in you.

He wants to renew the impure heart; the inclination to be at war/fight ; the unforgiving nature;

The grieving /broken heart; the rebellious stubborn nature

Don’t be tired of being tired of the same old-same old things in your life.

It can change!!

Conclusion

Isa 43:18-19

God wants to renew and restore you. He certainly is able to do so.

Secondly, the choice is in your hands.

Allow the Lord Jesus through His Holy Spirit to renew you

Forget the old things.God is doing a new thing

How about you?

Do you want to experience a new beginning??

:

Maturity

Ilustr.

“Isn’t he beautiful!” every mother’s comment about her newborn baby.

But imagine the same comment when the child 2 years later hasn’t changed; hasn’t grown.

Jesus had something to say about the shallow disciples in His parable of the sower of the seed.

Some seeds fell among the thorns and . . .

The shallow Christian

Matt 13:22 The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.

So it is with many Christians. They suffer from stunted growth; they have actually stopped growing.  This is a dangerous mistake!

Christians who grow in grace

Php 3:¹⁰ I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.¹² Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

 ¹³Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,  ¹⁴I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. ⁵All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you hink differently, that too God will make clear to you.

 ¹⁶Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

Text

13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,  I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 

15 All of us who are mature should take such a view of things.

And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.

Maturity

 (add to your faith….) The 7 components are :

Goodness, Knowledge, Self control, Perseverance

Godliness, brotherly kindness and love

Stop your childishness and start to develop an adult, mature, child-like spirit

Heb 6:1,2  Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity,

Eph 4:13,14 (Growth within the Body – the Church)

. . .until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.

What kind of maturity ?

Physical, Psychological, Spiritual

1. Physical = From teens (the age of independence seeking) to adolescence (the formation of personal and social identity and the discovery of moral purpose) to Adult = When bodily growth has completed and/or reproduction can begin. Then growing on into middle age and old age and finality.

2. Psychological = Intellectual development, information gathering and storing, inventiveness, leadership development.

3. SPIRITUAL =  attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. = Christlikeness

 

Perfecting holiness

Because God created man as a holy being, the natural state of humanness must be holiness. That is the whole meaning of salvation; being saved out of the life of sinfulness; being restored to our former glory; made holy in order to persevere in constant growth towards becoming mature IN Christ.

But holiness is not maturity. 

Spiritual maturity has its roots in initial conversion and spiritual maturity only begins after entire sanctification which is definitely a “second work of grace”.

2 Thess 2:¹³ But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.

Even though the great Apostle would not admit to perfection, he did say that he was striving; reaching toward that goal of absolute perfection.

Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it (perfection).

But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 

15 All of us who are mature should take such a view of things

Can you say that you are “mature” meaning spiritually mature?  What are the marks of maturity? Balance, Contentment, Discernment,

a.  Balance

A sanctified believer is not so heavenly minded that he is of no earthly good. While his head may be in the clouds, his feet are firmly on the ground. He knows that he knows. He has the inner “witness of the Spirit”.

b. Contentment  (sanctified self-sufficiency)

i. Doctrinal stability

ii.Smooth functioning within the Body

c.  Discernment =

the ability to distinguish between the true and the false.

It is extremely sad to see so many Christians who blindly follow the false doctrines. We can only make out what is false if we know what is true.

There is no argument from any Bible believer that holiness is a Biblical word. But the meaning has been distorted to suit certain doctrines.

There are only 5 (perhaps 6) ways of holiness that is being taught.

i.  (doctrine of imputation) We receive all that is needed for admission to heaven the moment we are born again. Many Scriptures can be and are used to confirm this notion. But a careful study will allow the sincere student to notice that throughout the entire Bible, God calls His people back to this requirement. The NT urges Christians (not unbelievers) to “be filled with the Spirit” = sanctified.

ii. You gradually grow into holiness. You get holier and holier. The question is, at what stage in your gradual growth are you holy enough? No, holiness is an instantaneous work of God’s most amazing grace. (Lk 11:13)

iii. You are made holy when you die. Even sinners die!

iv. You graduate in Purgatory

v.  Holiness is instantaneously imparted (upon request by the born-again believer). The process of development in Christlikeness then begins when the spiritual condition of the soul is “heart purity”; the minimum requirement for entrance into God’s holy heaven.      

¹⁷Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.  ¹⁸For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.  ¹⁹Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.

 ²⁰But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,  ²¹who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

4:¹ Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!

Conclusion

The mature Christian is a growing Christian. He is a most satisfied and content person. He is not perfect. He knows that God has not called him to perfection of performance. He lives his life (not faultlessly but) blamelessly before God (not necessarily before people). He will be criticised and “persecuted”, but the joy of the Lord is his strength.

To be recognized as being a mature Christian, we need constantly to upgrade our relationship with God. How? By continually adding to our faith. . . .

A sanctified Christian automatically develops a compassion for the unsaved; for those who have no spiritual leader to guide them into God’s Kingdom.