Developing Spiritual Wisdom & Understanding—Colossians 1:9-12

On Being a Disciple—The Cycle of Spiritual Maturity
Developing Spiritual Wisdom & Understanding—Colossians 1:9-12

Do you know the difference in knowledge and wisdom, or knowledge and understanding? You see, Paul prays for the Colossians to not only be filled with the “knowledge of His will” in Colossians 1:9, but also for it to be “in all spiritual wisdom and understanding”. In other words, having a head full of knowledge is not enough! God desires for us to grasp how to apply the knowledge we have to the things we face in this life in light of the spiritual realm! Spiritual maturity comes from learning about the things of God and then recognizing how those things provide guidance for the situations we face in this earthly realm.

How often do we go through experiences that are wasted because we are not prepared or disciplined enough to learn the lessons they could teach us? How many times do we have to learn lessons two, three, four times because we did not take the knowledge the situation was supplying and apply it to who our God is and what this means in the spiritual realm?
For instance, how many lessons do you think Judas heard about not being able to serve God and mammon; or about storing up treasure in this life and not being rich toward God? Yet, John tells us clearly at the end of Jesus’ ministry that Judas was a thief who used to pilfer money from the moneybox the apostles had with them (John 12:6). Surely, he could have repeated many of the lessons Jesus had taught in his presence! So, why didn’t they change his behavior? It appears Judas had a really hard time discerning the spiritual implications behind Jesus’ teachings and missed out on a grand scale!

LOOK! The Scriptures are loaded with stories where people had the teachings of God before them and somehow missed out on the real meaning behind them! What part of, “Thou shall not make any graven images” did Aaron misunderstand? Yet 40 days without Moses, and a mob that is getting impatient and possibly unruly can sure affect one’s spiritual perception—Right, Jesus? Solomon was given a gift of wisdom by God that led to him becoming the most powerful, wealthy and influential king, perhaps of all time. So, what happened? Remember, it is a Spiritual Maturity CYCLE!!! We are called to continue through the process of learning the knowledge of the will of God in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so it becomes part of our walk and then bears fruit over and over again. Somehow the process was short-circuited in the life of Solomon as he chased after women, riches and other things that took his heart away from God.

Do you see what Paul was praying for? He was praying for our eyes to be opened to the spiritual realm so we evaluate everything according to this perspective. Spiritual maturity is an impossibility without this! So, as you face the trials, frustrations, and even the joys of this upcoming week, may you take the time to consider how they apply to this world AND how they prepare you for life in the next. That is true wisdom and understanding!

-Scott

Filled With the Knowledge of His Will—Colossians 1:9-12

On Being a Disciple—The Cycle of Spiritual Maturity
Filled With the Knowledge of His Will—Colossians 1:9-12

Having recently moved to the Dallas area, there have been many times I have not known how to find a place I was supposed to be at. OK—maybe I should just say it—I have been lost! Mapquest has been a help at times, but it is certainly not flawless. So, can you just picture me lost in the midst of the Metroplex and stopping to ask a young man who is by the side of the road for directions? I roll down the window and ask, “Excuse me, but could you tell me the way to Parkland Hospital from here?” “Well,” the boy answers, “You go down this road about a mile and turn left by the gas station. Then you turn right at the 3rd street. That will bring you to a place where three streets meet at the George Bush Tollway. Once you get there, you had better find someone else to ask how to get the rest of the way.”

How many of you would be frustrated with directions like this? If so, perhaps that is why we find it so hard to walk with God during various trials or uncertain situations. This is a parable of life! When the ultimate end is uncertain, isn’t it good to get directions, however sketchy they might be, that move us, if only a few steps, in the right direction rather than in an incorrect direction? “Can’t you just give it all to me now?” “God, you know where I am supposed to wind up, so why not just give me the whole picture now and I will do my best to follow directions?”
Paul’s prayer in Colossians 1:9-12 for the believers at Colossae to become more mature in their spiritual walk began, and came back to, their developing an increased knowledge of God and His will. As stated in last week’s article, the point of this cycle is that we are never to stop growing in our relationship with God. The steps of the cycle lead us back to an “increase in the knowledge of God” so every other part of the cycle also increases each time we work through it.

Do you understand what this means, Church? There should never be a point in which we have arrived and are done growing! Life itself should teach us this lesson! How many things that you learned the first 20 years of your life have changed since that time? How many things have been discovered or invented over the past 20 years? How could you possibly keep up if you stopped learning? It is a true statement that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever,” however, at what point will you have Him and His ways all figured out? We can count on His consistency (thus the teaching from Hebrews 13:8), but the very nature of things calls for us to keep on growing in our knowledge of Him (thus Paul’s prayer on behalf of the Colossians).

So, what does God want you to learn today? Are you ready? Is your spirit teachable and moldable? What have the experiences of your past week taught you about who God is and what he wills for your life? I am sure Paul prays the same prayer for us as he did for the Colossians! But, even if you are not confident in that, then I will offer this prayer on your behalf throughout this week! Let’s keep growing in our knowledge of God and see where that takes us in the other parts of the cycle of spiritual maturity. Next week we talk about developing spiritual wisdom and understanding.

-Scott

The Cycle of Spiritual Maturity

On Being a Disciple—The Cycle of Spiritual Maturity
Colossians 1:9-12

John emphasized three attributes a disciple of Jesus is required to demonstrate: (1) abide in His word; (2) have love for one another; and (3) bear much fruit. Hopefully, each one of us can look into our lives (or have people we trust who will provide a spiritual mirror) and honestly evaluate how we are doing in these three foundational areas. However, how do we grow to become true disciples if we find ourselves deficient? Is there a process we can follow that will move individuals and a whole church family towards spiritual maturity and better service in the Kingdom of God? This is a question the elders and ministers have been wrestling with for several months as we have sought the direction of God to help this church family become all He has called us to be as ambassadors for His Kingdom.

Interestingly, Paul provides a prayer in the letter to the Colossians that shows his insight into the process of developing spiritual maturity. (Please read Colossians 1:9-12 before moving on with this article.) What we find in this prayer is what I will refer to as the Cycle of Spiritual Maturity. It is a prayer Paul has for the Colossian believers to grow in their understanding of Jesus and His ways, and the fruit that should come about as a result. Understand that Paul is writing to a body of believers he has not met (like us!) and he is trying to spur them on in their faith walk so they do not settle for a watered down version of discipleship and trust in Jesus. He will challenge them through the rest of the letter to avoid mixing faith in Jesus with empty philosophies and legalistic practices. Where he begins is a process that we at Garden Ridge need to consider carefully and weigh all our ministries and activities against to see if they are helping us or hindering us from becoming spiritually mature disciples. Activity, even spiritual activity, does not necessarily lead to spiritual maturity.

Paul begins with praying for the believers at Colossae to “be filled with the knowledge of His will.” Knowing God and His will provides the spiritual map everything else must follow in order to be pleasing to Him and true to His nature. However, knowledge of God’s will is not enough! It should produce spiritual wisdom and understanding (as Paul next prays for) so we can evaluate the things we face in this life according to His nature and will. Wisdom is the application of knowledge to everyday life situations. Understanding shows we grasp how the things we face in this world are really under the influence of God and His will. Having knowledge is a foundational start, but Paul’s prayer is for much more than knowledge! Can we apply that knowledge and demonstrate wisdom and understanding?

This leads Paul to pray for what the next step would be—(knowledge, wisdom and understanding become a part of who we are at our core)—Our Walk! As we learn to evaluate all of life through the eyes of God’s will, we develop disciplines and habits in our lives that constitute our WALK. However, even when His will becomes part of our core being, we have not arrived! He continues on with his prayer to call them to go another step forward by Bearing Fruit. In other words, this is a process meant to be shared. It is meant to influence others to draw them to a right relationship with Him.

The cycle then comes full circle (hence the term, cycle) by resulting in an “increase in the knowledge of God”. As one experiences the will of God in their daily life, through their walk, and in producing a harvest of good fruit, they learn about God at a deeper level and are pulled into the cycle at a deeper level. The beauty of this is that we never stop growing!

Over the next several weeks I will take each stage in this cycle and develop thoughts about them more completely so we can see how beautiful and powerful Paul’s prayer truly is. In the mean time, let us be praying that God will lead us to growth through the Cycle of Spiritual Maturity.

-Scott

Bear Much Fruit

The Characteristics of a Disciple:
Attribute #3: Bear Much Fruit

Does your life have purpose? It is supposed to! For instance, both the Old and New Testaments have imagery of God planting a vineyard and expecting a harvest of fruit. One example is found in Isaiah 5:1-7. This passage begins as a love song in which a vineyard is planted and cared for in numerous ways. Fertile soil on a hillside was chosen; the ground was dug up and stones were removed; choice vines were chosen to provide a good crop; a wall and tower were built to protect the crop; and then a wine press was built for once the crop was harvested. However, the song quickly changes tone. Instead of yielding a crop of good grapes, it only produces bad fruit! God’s response was to remove His protection and care. He was looking for a harvest of righteousness and justice, but that is not what He found. The rest of the chapter goes on to explain why there was no fruit—6 “Woe Oracles” were pronounced showing areas that needed to be pruned (or cleaned up) before the vine would be able to produce.

Interestingly, John uses the same imagery as he teaches about the third attribute of a disciple in John 15:8: Bear Much Fruit. He begins in V. 1 by referring to Himself as the true vine and then teaches about the pruning (or cleansing) the branches (us) need to go through in order to produce fruit. What is different about this picture is that Jesus is the VINE and His followers are branches that come from the vine. In other words, the fruit is guaranteed to be a good crop as long as we abide in the vine!!! God created us to produce fruit for His kingdom but we are not responsible for making the fruit happen—only for staying true to the VINE and allowing the VINEDRESSER (GOD) to prune away the tangles and other areas where we will hinder our growth.

Perhaps, that is the struggle with this third attribute—letting God prune us! However, no vine will produce great fruit without pruning. Otherwise, the nutrients and energy are used producing branches and leaves, instead of fruit. The vine might get big, but its produce will be small. (Unfortunately, this sounds like a description of some people’s lives and even of some church work.) Abiding in the Word (who also happens to be the Vine) and loving one another is not our purpose—bearing fruit is! However, it is through abiding in the Word and loving one another that we are pruned by God and become productive. The bottom line is: God wants you to produce fruit!

Consider one last story to see how serious this is to Him: Why do you suppose Jesus reacted to the barren fig tree He encountered on His way into Jerusalem at the end of His ministry the way He did? Do you know the story I am referring to in Mark 11:12-14? He was hungry as He traveled from Bethany to Jerusalem and came upon a fig tree that was green with leaves but had no fruit on it. He cursed it saying, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” and it withered and died. What is astounding is that Mark also happens to mention that it was not the season for figs! That’s right!—Jesus killed a fig tree for not having figs on it when it was not the season for figs! Why would He do such a thing? He was making a point! We are supposed to produce fruit in season and out of season. We cannot look like we are healthy and green but have no fruit. That tree is worthless and Jesus will wind up cursing it!

So, how are we doing, Church? Would Jesus be pleased and would He call us His disciples?

-Scott

Love for One Another

The Characteristics of a Disciple:
Attribute #2: Love for One Another

It is incredible what people are capable of doing “in the name of God” in order to police His church and stand in His name! For instance, over the past two months there have been two full-page ads taken out in The Oklahoman newspaper denouncing a particular Church of Christ in Oklahoma for their decision to add a contemporary worship service in which musical instruments are employed. Now, people may not agree on the right or authority to use instrumental music during a worship service, but could we at least agree that running a full-page ad in a public forum is not the most loving way to deal with one another? (Besides the fact that each ad cost $11,000 and was sponsored by individuals who do not even live in the same town as the congregation in question.) Seriously, if your neighbor had something against you, would you want them to put up a billboard in town to advertise your offense, or just come talk to you?
What are we advertising by the way we deal with one another? Are we showing we are part of something those without hope want to be part of because of how we stand with one another and bless one another? Or, do those looking in figure they get beaten up enough by the ways of the world and have no time or energy to have to deal with it in their religion as well?

Some of the danger of living in a culture in which we emphasize our “rights” and “freedom of speech” is that we become insensitive to others because we are focused on ourselves. However, Jesus clearly called us to a different level in our relationships. John 13:34-35 states: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” He said this in the context of just having finished washing the feet of His disciples! Imagine that—a Rabbi washing the feet of His own students. There is no place in any literature from the time of Jesus or before, except John 13, where an account of a Rabbi serving in this manner is recorded.

And how do you suppose Jesus handled the task of washing the feet of Judas, who would soon after betray Him? Apparently it was with tenderness and care, because when Jesus states that one would soon betray Him, the disciples began looking at one another at a loss to know who He was talking about (John 13:21-22).

The same is true of the cross! Do you understand that Jesus died for all the sin of the world? All the sin!!! He died for those who will never accept Him! He died for those who will try to use Him and His Father for their own gain! He paid the price for all sin, setting an example of what this new commandment of love should look like. Does this advertisement by Jesus look a little different than the one mentioned in the 1st paragraph?

Abiding in the word (the 1st attribute we looked at 2 weeks ago) sets the foundation for the disciple. Loving one another helps this first attribute of a disciple be about relationship with a living God and His creation rather than a checklist of rules and regulations. It puts the heart into our “religious” experience with God and His people. It makes following the letter of the Law more about caring for the souls of people than just being “right with God”. Besides, how can you be “right with God” if you don’t care about the souls of people?

-Scott

Abide in the Word

The Characteristics of a Disciple:
Attribute #1: Abide in the Word

Do you like where you live? Now, don’t fall into the trap that we so often do and immediately think on a physical level! I am not talking about the house you live in or whether you like the neighborhood or community where you reside. I am talking about your spiritual walk! Do you like where you live?

One of the clear characteristics of a disciple of Jesus is that they abide in His word. Jesus says, “If you abide in my word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32). The first part of this statement by Jesus is really just common sense, isn’t it? How could you be a disciple (student, learner, follower) of Jesus if you are not willing to follow His teachings or use His word as the foundation for your life? “Abiding” or “living” in His word means we make it a part of our everyday living. It becomes the guide we use to navigate through the challenges of this life!

The context of these verses in John 8 is about the very trap we tend to fall into with religion. As people came to believe in Jesus (V. 30), He wanted them to see the constant seeking, learning and growing that needed to be part of their development. He was calling them away from becoming stagnate, thinking they had arrived because they were of the right bloodlines. They saw themselves as right with God and ultimately free because they were “children of Abraham” (V. 33, 39) however, Jesus challenges them to “do the deeds of Abraham”! You see, Abraham would recognize Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God because Abraham walked with God throughout his life. He was constantly growing in spiritual maturity and even in a land where he was a stranger, he was never enslaved! The Israelites, in contrast, had a long history of being enslaved by almost every nation who came down the road because they would stop listening to the word of God and would allow their lusts and the distractions of the nations around them to lead them astray.

The point is this: Too many Christians are not enjoying the fullness of life God wants us to experience because we are not abiding (living, dwelling) in His word. We become enslaved by addictions, dysfunction and bad habits that are not in line with the nature and will of God and then get angry at God when we are conquered and live in oppressive situations. If He was in control and truly loved us, wouldn’t He fix things and help me clean up my mess? (This is what the Israelites of Jesus’ time were waiting for!) But it is THE TRUTH that makes us free, not the MAGIC GENIE IN THE SKY who wants to follow after us and fix every bad thing we get into! We would be free and able to live lives of contentment, joy, peace and hope if we let His word be where we dwelled!

What does “FREE” look like? How about a marriage where you don’t have to worry about contracting an infectious disease or threaten one another with the D-Word (divorce) because you make your decisions based upon His Word on what marriage should look like and how it should function? Could it be that freedom is not having to worry about what you said or did in your past because you have lived as a true disciple of Jesus? How about the ability to not only overcome the addictions and dysfunction in your life, but also to then use what you have learned from those things to bless the lives of others who are struggling and looking for answers?
So, do you like where you live? If not, try moving into the neighborhood of God’s Word and see if your living conditions don’t improve.

-Scott

The Marks of a Disciple

A popular skit series from the television show Saturday Night Live was about an individual named Pat whose character was intentionally made to be gender neutral. The point of the skits were to put Pat in various situations in which one could try and figure out if Pat was male or female. However, things were left so vague that one was always left wondering. The cast of Saturday Night Live made people laugh at the absurdity and awkwardness of something that should be quite clear yet was hard to define in this one individual.

How much of life is like this? Imagine if my references from when I was trying out for the preaching opening here at Garden Ridge made glowing statements like, “I am pleased to say that this candidate is a former colleague of mine”; or, “I can assure you that no person would be better for the job”; or, “I would urge you to waste no time in making this candidate an offer of employment.” Huh? What would they mean? Are these positive statements, or negative ones? (Go back and read each one again from both perspectives.)

I believe we have done the same thing with some of our different religious terms. One example of this would be the word, “disciple”. Ask a group of people what it means to be a disciple and you will get a lot of different answers. Some would be positive and some would not! Perhaps, the reason for this is because we fall into the trap of letting the world define what this means instead of allowing the Scriptures to provide its own definition. What was Jesus calling people to be and do when He invited them to follow Him and become His disciples? How much of what He desired from those walking with Him in His time applies to us in this present age? How much of what the first disciples were able to do in His name should we be able to accomplish?

One book that powerfully deals with the concept of discipleship throughout its pages is the Gospel of John! He begins his gospel on the very high plain of God creating through His Son, Jesus, and then sending Him to His creation to “explain” (the Greek term means to exegete) God. In so doing, His goal was not to bring God, His Father, down to the level of mankind, but to help mankind attain to the level of His Father! This is why John will make statements like, “there was the true light which, coming into the world enlightens every man”; and “as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:9, 12). Do you see by these statements that we are called to His level? He enlightens us, not vice-versa! As a child of God, I am to live according to the ways of my Father, thus proving I am part of His family (See John 8:39-47 for a scathing discussion on being true children of God).

John helps define what a disciple is and what he does in three powerful quotes of Jesus found in John 8:31; 13:35; and 15:8. These are descriptive marks one must portray in order to truly be a disciple of Jesus. He calls His followers to: (1) abide (or live) in His word, which will set us free; (2) to love one another; and (3) to bear much fruit. Over the next three weeks I hope to take each of these statements made by Jesus and discuss what the implications are for our lives today. Following that, we will consider the cycle of maturity Paul prays for in Colossians 1:9-12 and how we can implement this in our daily living and ministries here at Garden Ridge.

Please recognize that the leadership at Garden Ridge is committed to searching out the truth of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus and then challenge the members of this body to strive to live according to His high standard. We do not want to present a weak or impotent picture of what it means to be a follower of Jesus to our community, or one another, so that it is abundantly clear what a GREAT thing it is to be a disciple of Jesus and a child of God.

-Scott