Before we go deeper into the abyss of spiritual growth habits, we must put God first in our lives! If, today, you don't have God first in your life, then you'll likely to have problems trying to grow spiritually. The only person we all must follow is God alone.
Here's a long read but I believe it is worth to your soul! Print it out and take your time in reading each points:
The most practical and powerful way to get believers headed in the direction of spiritual maturity is to help them establish habits that promote spiritual growth.
Often called spiritual disciplines, we use the term habits at Fairfax because it is non-threatening to new believers.
While we teach that being a disciple certainly requires discipline, we believe these habits are to be enjoyed rather than endured. We don’t want people to be afraid of the spiritual exercises that will strengthen and develop them.
You cannot talk about character without talking about habits. Character is the way you habitually act. For example, if you are honest only part of the time, or you are honest only when you consciously choose to be honest, you cannot claim to have the character quality of integrity. In the same way, if you're committed part of the time, or you're committed when you choose to be committed, you cannot claim to have the character quality of commitment! Make sense!
Having integrity means you are always honest. It is your habit. You don’t even have to think about it. When someone asks you a question or gives you back too much change, you habitually do the honest thing.
There are five measurements of spiritual growth: Knowledge, perspective, conviction, skills, and character.
Knowledge of the Word
To begin building a spiritual growth curriculum you need to ask two questions: What do people already know? and What do they need to know?
A church that has grown primarily by biological growth (conversion of members’ children) or transfer growth may have many members that already have a working knowledge of the Bible. But in a church designed to reach the unchurched, it’s a different ball game. You cannot assume your new members know anything about the Bible. You must start from ground zero.
Perspective
Perspective is understanding something because you see things from a larger frame of reference. It is the ability to perceive how things are interrelated and then judge their comparative importance.
In a spiritual sense, it means seeing life from God’s point of view. In the Bible, the words "understanding”, "wisdom”, and "discernment” all have to do with perspective. The opposite of perspective is “hardness of heart”, “blinded” and “dullness.”
Psalm 103:7 says “He (God) made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel.” The people of Israel got to see what God did, but Moses got to understand why God did it. This is the difference between knowledge and perspective. Knowledge is learning what God has said and done. Perspective is understanding why God said it or did it.
Perspective answers the “Why?” questions of lifeThe Bible says that unbelievers have no spiritual perspective (1 Cor. 2:14). Likewise a lack of perspective is a mark of spiritual immaturity ( 1 Cor. 3:1-2, 13:11, 14:20). God’s re-occurring complaint about the nation of Israel was that they lacked perspective. Many of the prophets rebuked this weakness (Isa. 44:18, Jer. 4:22, Micah 4:12).
There are dozens of benefits of learning to see everything from God's perspective:
Perspective causes us to love God more. The better we understand the nature and ways of God, the more we love him. Paul prayed (my favorite verse) "...may you be able to feel and understand, as all God's children should, how long, how wide, how deep, and how high his love really is;" (Eph. 3:18 LB)
Perspective helps us resist temptation. When we look at a situation from God’s viewpoint, we realize the long-term consequences of sin are greater than any short-term pleasure sin might provide. Without perspective we follow our own natural inclinations. "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." (Prov. 14:12)
Perspective helps us handle trials. When we have God’s perspective on life we realize that “... in all things God works for the good of those who love him...” (Rom 8:28) and that “the testing of your faith develops perseverance." (James 1:3). Perspective was one of the reasons Jesus was able to endure the cross (Heb. 12:2). He looked past the pain to the joy that was set before him. How about we work to look past our trials to the joy set before us??
Perspective protects us from error. If there was ever a time that Christians need to be grounded in the truth, it is today. We live in a society that rejects absolute truth and accepts every opinion as equally valid. Pluralism has created a very confused culture. The problem is not that our culture believes nothing but that it believes everything. Syncretism, not skepticism is our greatest enemy. Perspective, God's perspective, is the antidote. It is looking through the lens of God!
Jeremiah 3:15 say that shepherds that feed the flock the way God intends provide both knowledge and perspective. The result is believe that rock solid. Here's a powerful verse that we can apply to, today! "Then we will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different or has cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth." (Eph 4:14 LB)
Conviction.
Dictionaries usually define conviction as a fixed or strong belief. But, conviction is really much more than that. Your convictions include your values, commitments, and motivations. Our convictions determine our conduct. They motivate us to act in certain ways.
When you first became a Christian, you often do things simply because other Christians around you suggest them or model them. But, remember, not all Christians model the Jesus model! Though, a person may be a "Christian" for many years, their model may not be the Jesus model. You may pray, read the Bible and attend services because you see the examples of others. This is fine for a new Christian. Little children learn the same way. However, as you grow, you must eventually develop your own reasons for doing what you do. Those reasons become convictions. Biblical convictions are essential for spiritual growth and maturity.
Jellyfish Christians.. A person without conviction is at the mercy of circumstances. True, huh? If you don’t determine what’s important and how you’ll live, other people will determine it for you. But, be forewarned, that such determination of your peers may lead you in the wrong path. A person's conviction may depend on another person's conviction. If the other person doesn't want to go to church, then I won't go. A person without conviction is a weak, jellyfish type of individual who mindlessly follows the crowd. I believe Paul was talking about conviction when he said in Romans 12:2 “Don’t let the world squeeze you into its own mold, but let God remold your mind from within...” (Phillips)
Conviction helps us be diligent in continuing to grow spiritually. Growth requires time and effort. Without convictions about growth, people become discouraged and give up. No one stays with a difficult task unless he is convinced that there is a good reason for doing it. A church can teach people how to pray, how to study the Bible, and how to witness, but without imparting the corresponding convictions, people will not stick with it.
Knowing what to do (knowledge), why to do it (perspective) and how to do it (skill) is all worthless if you don’t have the conviction to motivate you to actually do it!
Skills
Now, here's something that many of us have not mastered today! Skills. A skill is an ability to do something with ease and accuracy. You develop a skill, not by listening to a lecture, but by practice and experience. You get yourselves involved. When you go to a Bible study, it's an opportunity to prepare to "act" in our community. When you go to worship, it's an opportunity to ask God to help us to be the stewards and servants God desires. In the Christian life, there are certain skills you must develop in order to mature: Bible study skills, ministry skills, evangelism skills, relational skills, time management skills, and many others.
Skills are the “how to”s of spiritual growth. Knowledge and perspective are concerned with knowing. Conviction and character are concerned with being. Skills are related to doing. We are to be “doers of the word, not hearers only” (James 1:22). Our actions prove we belong to God’s family. Jesus said, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice."(Luke 8:21)
If you want to be produced into becoming an effective Christian, you must learn the necessary skills for Christian living and ministry. Remember that skill, not dedication, is the key to effectiveness at anything. "If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring success." (Eccl. 10:10) You need to rub yourselves with other Christians. You may feel uncomfortable for a number of reasons:
1. You just got out of the "comfort-zone".
2. You're not used to the Christian lifestyle (living for Christ).
3. You sense the pressure of Satan that you have never felt before. While in worldly ways, Satan leaves you alone because you're in his territory. But when you have left his territory, he'll work his evil desires around you.
Character.
And, at last but not least, Christ-like character is the ultimate goal of all Christian education. To settle for anything less is to miss the point of spiritual growth. We are to “...become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Eph. 4:13)
Developing the character of Christ is life’s most important task because it is the only thing we’ll take with us into eternity. Jesus made it quite clear in his sermon on the mount that eternal rewards in heaven will be based on the character we develop and demonstrate here on earth.
Suppose, I ask you what Galatians 5:22-23 is and list the nine fruit of the Spirit? The first year, you don't know what it means and I took the time to explain to you what it is, the 9 fruit and the meaning of each. Next year, I ask you again and you still don't know. Then I encourage you to study it throughout the year. You have 363 days to study it. Then the third year, I ask you what it is but you gave an excuse and say that you couldn't find the time to review it, even though you had 363 opportunities to put this simple verse in your heart. Three years, and still don't know this important Scripture.
I believe you know what I would say to this person, "...if you're committed part of the time, or you're committed when you choose to be committed, you cannot claim to have the character quality of commitment!" And how would you explain your excuse to God when you come to Him face to face in the last days?
I'm not limiting this to simply memorizing a verse. It's not only about YOU. It's about others in our community and throughout the world.
This means the objective of all our teaching must be to change lives, not merely provide information. Paul told Timothy that the purpose of his teaching was to develop character in those he taught: “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” (1 Tim. 1:5) Paul told Titus to do the same thing: “Now you must tell them the sort of character which should spring from sound teaching.”(Titus 2:1 Php)
So how prepared are you with the knowledge you have, the perspective you see through the eye-lens of God, the determined conviction and the skills God gave you to use for His glory?
Sow a thought and you reap an act;
Sow an act and you reap a habit;
Sow a habit and you reap a character;
Sow a character and you reap a destiny. - Samuel Smiles
When you put knowledge of the Word, perspective, conviction, and the corresponding skills together, the resulting product is character! First you know it; then you understand it; then you believe it with your whole heart, then you do it. The result is character.
Here are five questions you need to ask about your Christian education program:
- Are you learning the content and meaning of the Bible?
- Are you seeing themselves, life, and other people more clearly from God’s perspective?
- Are your values becoming more aligned with God’s values?
- Are you becoming more skilled in serving God?
- Are you becoming more like Christ?
In conclusion, last night, I talked with one of our dear friends and former member of the church on videophone. She was telling me how blessed the deaf are to have a church at Fairfax and a wonderful minister to be taught and encouraged by. She feels spiritually malnourished and is hungry for knowledge and fellowship. I really appreciate her thoughts and only hear this from a very few family within the Fairfax church family. She also said that those at Fairfax may not realize they're blessed beyond words because she formerly attended Fairfax and attended another deaf church in her state. In other words, she wished the world is smaller so travelling to Fairfax wouldn't be too far.
As Paul said in Colossians 1:28 “So we continue to preach Christ to each person, using all wisdom to warn and to teach everyone, in order to bring each one into God's presence as a mature person in Christ.” (ncv)
And so, "..fix your eyes on Jesus.. ..the perfector of our faith.."!!!!
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